


Movie Spin

by BlackHunter666



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers Generation One
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-09 07:16:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 47,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3241055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackHunter666/pseuds/BlackHunter666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just for a laugh, let us suppose that instead of CGI and special effects, Michael Bay was able to do the Transformers films completely live action. What might it have been like trying to make all three movies so far whilst working with real Autobots and their various moods, attitudes and all the dangers of working with such large and powerful actors? Imagine if you will the challenges that could have been made easier and those situations that would undoubtedly be more difficult. The slightly, or in some cases very, random and unusual conversations that might come up during their time off set, talking with their co-stars. Are the Decepticons real Decepticons or just more Autobots with clever disguises and repaints to hide their identity?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Transformers

Groaning softly as he took on his new and hopefully temporary alt mode, Silverbolt knew his gestalt mates were all sniggering at him and his very drab new paint scheme. Gone were his sleek lines and glistening red and white paintjob, replaced by olive drab military paintwork and rotors instead of his wings.  
'So basically I'm doing this to get shot at and to shoot at a bunch of humans?' he sighed, resettling his rotors as he straightened.  
'That about sums it up Silverbolt. Just make sure you don't trash the vehicles not marked for destruction. We're on a budget here.'  
'I've already got the vehicles mapped out Mr Bay, there won't be any unasked for destruction. Just so long as the human cast remembers where they're going.' Silverbolt nodded, looking around for his other co-star for this scene. 'Gears? You ready to go?'  
"Yeah, I'm coming Silverbolt. Still not sure about this costume." Gears replied, skittering over in the Scorponok costume.  
'You don't look anywhere near as bad in yours as I do in mine.' Silverbolt grinned, crouching and bracing his position as Gears launched into the recessed spot on his back.  
"Okay, I'm all secure here Silverbolt."  
'Then let's get this done.' Silverbolt nodded, transforming and launching skywards. "Gah, this is so screwed up. I already hate flying with rotors."  
"Chin up Silverbolt, you're only in a few scenes. Unlike Skydive."  
"Ugh, don't remind me Air Raid. I can't believe I got chosen to be Starscream."  
"Alright guys, cut the chatter. I gotta focus here."  
"Have fun Bolt."  
"Thanks Flight."

Plodding through the sky, Silverbolt went back over his scene, checking the map and making sure he had the flow all locked down properly. He felt so slow as the two Raptors raced past him and throttled back, talking to him but he knew that no response was expected at this stage.  
"They won't really use deadly force, will they?"  
"No Silverbolt, it's just a line. Mr Bay promised that we'd all get through this intact and alive."  
"Thanks Prime."

Approaching the military base all set out for this first big action sequence, he trained his sensors on the rest of the Autobots lounging around nearby and sighed softly, taking comfort from their presence in this weird new acting business. Brushing those thoughts aside, he came in for his landing, still listening to the lines from his fellow actors and waiting for his moment to shine. Turning a little more, he touched down smoothly, sensors shifting to the vehicles on the ground. Running through his countdown, he kept his rotors going and let his holoform flicker a few times before starting the power down sequence when cued. Catching his main rotors and stopping them with a sharp jerk, he started his transformation, everything to the sequence and rhythm he'd been told to use.

Then the squibs on his armour started going off, the tiny little blasts more than a little irritating. He understood that it was either these little charges or actual gunfire but still, it was less than pleasant.  
"Are you guys sure these squib things are safe? They really hurt after a few dozen."  
"Relax Silverbolt; we kept Wheeljack well away from the pyrotechnics."  
"Hey, I resent that Ratchet!"  
"Thanks for the confidence boost Ratchet."

On his feet at last, Silverbolt advanced, his much larger weapons sweeping the ground and sending the humans scurrying for cover. Destroying vehicles and chasing the humans around, he was still careful of not actually harming anyone but he was trying to look like he was out to kill them all. His EMP blast was especially good, scattering men and vehicles everywhere and blowing in the glass up in the command tower. Turning smoothly, he headed for the rest of the base, launching shells and tracking the map he'd organised to keep his movements and firing patterns as instructed.

Tearing the roof off the command bunker and tossing it aside, he reached into the room and grabbed the central data core, twisting it and pulling it up off the floor. This was the weirdest part for him, he wasn't doing anything but holding the prop piece but apparently he was downloading a whole lot of top secret files.

Turning away after a few moments, he went back to trashing the set, throwing around big tanks and smaller helicopters, always careful of his fellow cast members in the area but he'd been told to make this look big. He also had to be careful of the camera crew but they weren't right under his feet like the soldiers. He had to be especially careful of Tyrese, flat on his back between Silverbolt's feet, a pair of binoculars in his hand. Pausing a few moments, Silverbolt flipped out another cannon from his chest and took aim on the dark male, watching him scramble away in fear. The big squib on his chest really hurt when it exploded but Silverbolt soldiered on, knowing he was nearing the end of his scene.

Turning again, Silverbolt spread his rotors and launched his companion into action. Comfortable in the Scorponok costume, Gears arched over backwards and burrowed into the sand, following his own map of the battle scene and getting to work. Making his way along the organised path, he destroyed three big cargo planes and a few smaller pieces in a very nice looking rampage. At least, he thought it looked good. It depended entirely on what Mr Bay thought though.  
'And cut!'

Hearing the call from the Director, Silverbolt lowered his weapons and took a knee, Gears emerging from the sands nearby and skittering over to wait near Silverbolt.  
"Reckon I can get out of here yet?"  
'For your sake, I hope so. It can't be fun being stuck in there.'  
"That's putting it mildly Silverbolt. I know I'm a minibot but it's still cramped in here."  
'We'll just have to wait and see. At least you weren't the one getting shot at, the squib in the chest really hurt.'

#~#+~+#~#

Finished with his first scene, Bumblebee transformed and shuddered, absolutely horrified with the terrible state of his new alt mode. He'd been warned he was going to look beat up and worn down but this was far beyond anything he'd expected.  
'Wow Bee, you really are an ol' hunk-a-junk. You look like you're about ta fall apart in that getup.'  
'Gee, thanks Jazz.' Bumblebee replied, flipping Jazz the bird. 'I knew I was going to look a little rough around the edges but seriously, I've got something growing in my trunk and I smell of month old oil and grease. This is so not cool.'  
'Could be worse Bee, you could stink of year old oil and grease.' Ironhide shrugged, relaxing in the shade nearby.  
'Stick it in your tailpipe Ironhide, this isn't funny. I know I'm supposed to be a young man's first car and all but this is gross. I'm sure my contract said nothing about looking like a junker.'  
'Bumblebee, you have it so easy. At least you're still a recognisable Autobot.' Ultra Magnus corrected, wandering over to join the group in parts of his costume.

He'd been one of the unlucky Autobots, chosen to fill a Decepticon role in the movie. But Ultra Magnus had really drawn the short straw, his height and bulk making him a perfect candidate to play Megatron. There had been a few sniggers about his role in the beginning but now everyone felt rather sorry for him, Ultra Magnus was going to be taking quite the beating from Optimus later according to the script.  
'Compared to your role, yeah I coulda done better but I've still got at least two big fights with Prowl, er, Barricade. I hardly look like a threat looking like this.'  
'I still find this so distasteful.' Prowl shrugged, settling beside Jazz and gazing at the Decepticon logo on his side. 'But do not worry about our upcoming scenes Bumblebee, I will be the one to take a beating apparently.'  
'Question, who got Frenzy's role for the upcoming scene with him?'  
'That'd be me, Bumblebee.' Rewind replied, looking like a strong gust of wind would carry him away. 'You think looking like a junker is hard, try being a Boombox. No one let off any exhaust around me, I might fly away.'

Wandering over to join the group, Shia still found it amazing to be working with these alien visitors in such a seemingly normal situation. Movie making was no big deal, hundreds of people did it every day but with co-stars like these, this movie was anything but ordinary.  
'You okay Bumblebee?' he asked, looking up at his giant co-star and cracking a grin.  
'He's just bitchin' about his appearance for the film. He doesn't appreciate looking like such a piece of crap.' Silverbolt replied, still in his dark alt-mode until he was told he could revert to his original form.  
'Hey, I thought you get to change your appearance further along in the film. Megan says something about a piece of crap Camaro, you leave us both standing on the side of the road and go scan something better.'  
'He's right Bumblebee, read ahead in the script a bit more. You don't spend the entire movie looking that bad.' Optimus nodded, shaking out his armour and leaning back on one hand.  
'I did read ahead Prime but I must have missed that part. Hopefully they picked something really good to make up for this shame. Oh the upside, I do get to tease Shia and Megan about their hidden love.'  
'Why do I get the feeling that's going to be an awkward scene between us?'  
'I have no idea Shia.'

#~#+~+#~#

Focusing on his big scene with Bumblebee and the humans, Prowl entered the busy set and locked onto Shia, sirens and lights going as he headed for the young actor. He kept a few sensors on Bumblebee too and watched out for Megan's arrival on scene but right now he had to play mean. Engine revving, he let Shia come closer, a countdown keeping everything on track and flowing. Then Shia was in range and Prowl swung his door open, battering him to the ground.  
'Listen to me! Thank God you're here! I've had the worst day ever! I've been…I've been followed here on my mother's bike! Right? And my car's right there and it's been following me here! So get out of the car!'

Engine revving, Prowl pushed Shia back sharply, knocking him to the ground again and cutting off his monologue. Shia stayed down, protesting the crazy scene as Prowl kept coming forward, engine roaring with every sharp jolt forward. He started slow, building tension and then kept pushing, forcing Shia to really scramble to keep up. Then, right on the count, he transformed one headlight and extended it towards Shia's face, the young actor rolling with the scene and freaking out nicely. Transforming his other front lights, Prowl surged forward again, spotlighting Shia and scaring him again.  
'Please! Okay, what do you want from me?'

Cued into his next sequence, Prowl retracted his lights and surged again, this time turning the surge forward into his transformation and rising quickly with a roar. Screaming in disbelief, Shia scrambled to his feet and ran, swearing up a storm as he tried to get away from Prowl. He didn't get far though before Prowl smacked him with one hand and sent him flying into a nearby car.  
"Remember Prowl, gentle but aggressive."  
"I'm well aware of how fragile the humans are Bee."  
'It's a bad dream.'

Lunging forward and grabbing the car with both hands, Prowl gave the car a good shake and leant in close to deliver his lines, briefly wondering just how intimidating he looked to the camera.  
'Are you username LadiesMan217?'  
'I don't know what you're talking about!'  
'Are you username LadiesMan217?'  
'Yeah.'  
'Where is eBay item 21153? Where are the glasses?'

Scrambling to his feet, Shia took off again, scrambling over the car and running hard to clear the area. He knew Prowl fairly well, they'd all spent some time talking before shooting started but this switch into Barricade truly was frightening. This wasn't the tactician that Sam knew. Flipping the car and giving chase, Prowl was ready for the next big stunt, he knew it would hurt but he trusted Bumblebee to do it right.

Screaming onto the scene right on time, Bumblebee raced past Shia and Megan on the ground and spun, tires squealing as he whipped around and slammed into Prowl's legs, toppling the black and white onto his back.  
"You okay Prowl?"  
"I'm good Bee, nice hit."  
"See you in the brawl." Bee chirped, whirling around and pulling up beside their human co-stars, door swinging open.  
'Sam, what is that thing?'  
"Ouch, you're a thing."  
"I'm a junker thing still."  
'You have to get in the car. Get in.'  
'I don't want to.'  
'Get in the car. Trust me. Trust me!'  
'Sam.'  
'Get in! Go, go, go, go, go.'

Slipping into gear again, Bumblebee squealed his tires again and raced away, Prowl emerging from the background set decorations and giving chase. It was a smooth transition from a sideways rolling base mode to a running jump into a racing alt-mode. Kicking up the dust together, the pair raced along the set, Prowl's lights flickering in Bee's rear-view mirror.  
"Wow, these two really know how to act. You'd swear they really were panicking."  
"I know I gave Shia a scare, Bee. He knows me as a tactician, not this hulking brute I've been working on."  
"Oh great, more scratches." Bee groused, jumping through the big glass window.  
"No one will notice them Bee." Prowl replied, thundering after them. "This is a good scene, I'm actually having fun."  
"Yeah, it's a great scene. Who woulda thought we'd get paid to race around like idiots and fake a brawl?"  
"And make one big mess."

Charging into another set, this one industrial, Bee found his spot and stopped, locking the doors and dimming his lights as Prowl pretended to search for him. Passing Bee's spot, Prowl stopped and waited, knowing Bee would come tearing out past him in just a second. Gunning his engine, Bee shot off the mark, racing around behind Prowl and disappearing into the darkness again, the pair still having so much fun with the scene.  
"You ready for the big scene?"  
"Let's do this Prowl."

Depositing Shia and Megan on the ground, Bee transformed for the first time up close to the camera, constantly alert for the pair at his feet as he stood and readied to face Prowl in combat. Roaring onto the scene and bursting through his transformation, Prowl led with his fist, knocking Bee to the ground and bringing his weapons into play. Launching from Prowl's chest, Rewind headed for Shia and Megan, ready for his fight scene and hoping Megan knew what she was doing.

Chasing the two humans, Rewind had the easy part of this scene really. He just had to be as annoying and hyper as he could manage. Latching onto Shia's back, he held tight and chattered away, the words unimportant so long as the tone was right. Thrown to the ground, the little silver bot got up and gave chase again, darting between some of the props to grab Shia around the ankles and trip him up. Clawing and scrabbling, the pair got into a weird little wrestling match as Megan ran off to grab the saw. During their struggle, Rewind managed to get Shia's jeans down around his ankles but the little bot kept trying until Shia rolled over and kicked him away, his jeans flying away with Rewind. Shaking off the cloth, Rewind took off after him again, trying not to laugh at the strangeness of the scene.

Flying through the fence and tumbling down into the gully beyond, Rewind was thrown clear of Shia's back again but he went right back at him, driving the young actor into the fence and struggling with him.  
"You okay still Rewind?"  
"Yeah dad, we're just about to do the saw scene."  
"I'll be there to pick you up after the switch."  
"Thanks dad."

Thrown clear, Rewind tumbled into a prearranged hiding place and one of the crew members took over, sending out an RC doppelganger of the character. Slinking away off camera, Rewind headed to meet up with his father as the doppelganger was hacked into pieces by Megan.

His fight with Prowl over, Bumblebee walked over to the fence line, tucking his weapons away and holding his laughter when he saw Shia without his pants. He was a little sore after the match with Prowl but it was nothing serious, he'd take a bigger beating later on when things really got interesting.  
'Can you talk?'  
'XM Satellite Radio…Digital cable brings you…Columbia Broadcasting System…'  
'So…you talk through the radio?'  
'Thank you, you're beautiful. You're wonderful, you're wonderful.' Bee replied, not sure he liked this radio talk thing but he'd adjust.  
'So, what was that last night? What was that?'  
'Message from Starfleet, Captain…Throughout the inanimate vastness of space…Angels will rain down like visitors from heaven! Hallelujah!'  
'Visitors from heaven? What…' Megan blinked, staring up at Bumblebee with a new respect. 'What are you, like, an alien or something?'

Pointing at her and winking, Bumblebee turned a little and transformed, going down to his hands and knees as the rest of his plating shifted before he disappeared into his crappy old form once again, hood slamming closed last.  
'Any more questions you want to ask?' he asked, door swinging open for them.  
'He wants us to get in the car.'   
'And go where?'  
'Fifty years from now, when you're looking back at your life, don't you want to be able to say you had the guts to get in the car?'

#~#+~+#~#

Coming back to the Autobot base after his change of alt modes, Bumblebee was absolutely thrilled with his new form. No more crapped out old Camaro, now he was a sleek, handsome brand new Camaro and he looked so good.  
'Hey, check out the new and improved Bumblebee. Now that's a slick form.' Jazz called, admiring the smooth lines of the new Camaro and the new confidence the bright yellow mech displayed.  
'This thing is so new, it's not even on the roads yet.' Bee declared, so pleased with his new and improved look.  
'No more bad smells Bee?' Ratchet asked, looking up from where he was banging the last few dents from Prowl's armour.  
'Nope and mo more mould in the trunk carpet either.' Bee nodded, doorwings flared high over his shoulders. 'I do still have one complaint though.'  
'What's the complaint this time Bee?' Optimus asked, still not sure about his flame design.  
'The radio speak. Come on, I've got a voice why can't I use it?'  
'Oh but Bee, just think of the fun you can have with the radio speak.' Blaster chuckled, Rewind perched happily on his shoulder. 'You can say just about anything and get away with it because it came through the radio.'  
'Well yeah but I'd still rather actually speak.'  
'At least you get to speak in a way.' Gears countered, crawling out of his costume at last. 'All I do is clank and click.'  
'And get piggy-back rides.' Silverbolt added, shuffling his rotors again.  
'That too.'

#~#+~+#~#

Coming together for their first big joint scene, Bumblebee was first in position, Shia and Megan slowly climbing out as the rest of the team approached, Optimus first to break through the fog. Jazz led the charge in from behind Bumblebee, Ratchet and Ironhide along behind him, their path lit by Ratchet's emergency lights and his sirens echoing among the buildings.

Coming right up close to the humans, Optimus let out an internal sigh and started a slow transformation, ignoring the various irritations of the new form as he slowed everything right down and made a very, very impressive first entrance. Backing up to give him space, Bee smirked at Ratchet's bright paintjob and let him pass, Jazz and Ironhide moving into their positions as cued off from Prime. Noting a couple of minor problems that would need Ratchet's attention in the next month or so, Optimus continued the slow transformation, the last few details slotting into place and cueing up his fellow Autobots for their transformations.

Shia and Megan didn't know where to look as the five transformed and stood around them, each one a different style and all so spectacular. They wanted to see it all but it was all too amazing to see in one go. Then Optimus stepped forward, easing to one knee beside them but just as he was coming in close to give his first line, something definitely off script happened. He made a sound something like a backfiring engine. Optics widening, he rocked back, overbalanced and fell hard on his aft, absolutely stunned by what had just happened. Shoulders heaving, Ironhide was first to burst out into laughter, the other Autobots soon caught up in the giggling at Optimus' expense.  
'Cut!'  
'Bloody hell Optimus, that's just rotten.' Jazz cried, recoiling as a bad odour filled the area but the comedy was too good to run.  
'You are so nasty Optimus, you are so nasty.' Ratchet groused, one hand to his nasal ridge but he was still laughing his aft off.  
'I apologise, I didn't know that was there.' Optimus offered, glaring at the four laughing Autobots.  
'What was that?' Shia asked, looking up at Optimus curiously as he covered his nose.  
'The Boss Bot farted.' Bumblebee managed, howling with laughter as he sank to the ground. 'Live on camera for the blooper reel!'  
'You guys can do that?' Megan blinked, nose buried in her hands to avoid the bad smell.  
'Yes Megan, it's merely a build-up of engine exhaust, nothing dangerous.' Ratchet nodded, trying to regain control but any glance at another Autobot and he was gone again.  
'When you four are quite finished!' Bay called, disturbed by what he was learning but they had a schedule to keep.

Eventually the laughter subsided and the Autobots could look at each other without starting again. Returning to their places, they went back through their transformations again and held ready as Prime went back to one knee, leaning close to the humans.  
'Are you Samuel James Witwicky, descendant of Archibald Witwicky?'  
'They know your name.'  
'Yeah.'  
'My name is Optimus Prime. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron.'  
'But you can call us Autobots for short.'  
'Autobots.'  
'What's cracking, little bitches?'  
'My first Lieutenant. Designation, Jazz.'  
'This looks like a cool place to kick it.'

Launching onto the car wreck behind him, Jazz knew what was supposed to happen but for some reason the little stunt didn't quite work. Instead of landing safely on the car and plating one foot on the ground, he overshot the car and landed in a heap behind it..  
'Cut! Jazz, you're supposed to land on the car wreck!'  
'Thought it was further back!' Jazz shot back, squirming in his spot. 'Uh guys, little help here? I'm stuck.' he called, unable to get traction in this particular tangle.  
'Something tells me this simple little scene is going to be full of blooper reel moments.' Ratchet sighed, walking around the wreck to untangle Jazz and get him back on his feet, albeit smelling rather bad. 'You're going to need a bath after this one Jazz.'  
'Smell me about it.' Jazz sighed, shaking off some of the mud and walking around to the front of the car again.  
'We'll go from Prime's intro.'

Running through the lines again, everyone kept their cool, got back on track and Jazz stuck his landing on the car this time, relaxed and reasonably comfortable on the wreck.  
'What is that? How did he learn to talk like that?'  
'We've learned Earth's languages through the World Wide Web.'

Catching his cue, Ironhide started shifting his cannons, the clanking notes just subdued enough not to overpower the lines being delivered so close.  
'my weapons specialist, Ironhide.' dropping his shoulder plating and putting in a dramatic lateral spin, everyone looked up at the sharp clank and moved back as the black mech dropped to one knee, rubbing the back of his helm.  
'Cut! Damnit Ironhide, what the hell was that!'  
'Now that was some real skill Ironhide. Don't know too many bots that can knock themselves out with their weapons.' Ratchet teased, stepping past the humans to check his old friend.  
'I dunno what happened there, never done that before.' Ironhide replied, sporting a new dent in the back of his helm from that little accident but it wasn't anything to really worry about.  
'Come on you old bolt bucket, on your feet. This time, be careful.' Ratchet sighed, helping Ironhide up and moving back again.  
'Let's go again, from Shia's last line.'

Cued in again, this time Ironhide kept his cannons out further and got through the lateral spin without another blow to the helm, living up to his reputation as his cannons glowed.  
'You feeling lucky, punk?'  
'Easy Ironhide.'  
'Just kidding. I just wanted to show him my cannons.' Ironhide replied, lifting one in example.  
'Our medical officer, Ratchet.' Scenting the air, Ratchet knew this line was going to be another blooper moment but he had to go along with the script and try not to blow it too badly.  
'Hmm. The boy's pheromone level suggests he wants to mate with the female.'

Blinking in disbelief for a moment, Jazz was first to crack up this time, wobbling and falling off the car as laughter overtook the Autobots again. Even Optimus was in on it this time, bracing his crouched position as his deep baritone rumbled with laughter.  
'Cut! What is with you five tonight? This is supposed to be a simple scene.'  
'Pheromone levels? Who wrote that?' Ratchet asked, hiding his face behind one large hand.  
'You are a medic Ratch.' Ironhide sniggered, leaning against the building behind him so he didn't fall over.  
'We know you're bad at first meetings Ratchet but that's a new low.' Bumblebee added, taking cover behind Optimus as Ratchet drew his favourite wrench from subspace and held it threateningly.  
'Frag off the lot of ya. I am not bad at first meetings.' he growled, slumping to sit in the mud.  
'You are Ratchet, you so are. Remember our first meeting. I came in to ask for your help and left at a run with five new dents in my helm.' Optimus replied, barely containing his laughter.  
'If we can just get this scene finished, we can all go to bed.' Bay called, starting to wonder if he'd ever get this done.  
'Alright, everyone focus. We've almost got this.' Optimus nodded, lowering his helm and off lining his optics.

Calm and focused once again, the group retook their places and made sure everyone was in position and back to how they'd been standing before the last crack up. Getting through the awkward moment with Ratchet without any giggles, the group surged on, ready to finish for the night.  
'You already know your guardian, Bumblebee.'

Bang on cue, Bumblebee started bouncing around, throwing punches and trying to look as tough as he could. He managed to stuff it up though, tripping over his own two feet and going down with a crash.  
'I know, I know. Cut!' he sighed, sitting up slowly and checking he was undamaged.  
'This is definitely a bad scene for the blooper reel.' Shia remarked, moving back a step as Bee regained his feet.  
'Five Autobots, five Autobot mistakes. Gotta be one for the record books.' Jazz agreed, still seated on the car.  
'Take it from the awkward silence!'

This time Bee nailed it, a giant street fighter ready for action and as tough as he could manage.  
'Bumblebee, right?'  
'Check on the rep. Yep, second to none.'  
'So, you're my guardian, huh?'  
'His vocal processors were damaged in battle. I'm still working on them.' Ratchet explained, getting Bee in the neck with the medical laser in his arm.  
'Why are you here?'  
'We are here looking for the AllSpark. And we must find it before Megatron.'  
'Mega-what?'

#~#+~+#~#

Another night scene, this time outside the Witwicky residence. Whatever had effected the Autobots during their scene in the alley had been dealt with and they were back to being total professionals, sticking to the script and only destroying what was supposed to be destroyed. They knew about being careful around human homes and had been warned that this one was an actual family home so couldn't be destroyed so they were extra careful.  
'Autobots, fall back.'  
'Thank you. Please, for five minutes. Good? Good? Okay.'  
'Move!'  
'Get away!'  
'What's the matter with you? Can't you be quiet?'  
'He wants us to be quiet.'

Then it happened, another for the blooper reel. Distracted by Optimus' line, Ratchet walked right into the powerlines, taking a massive charge through his systems. Sirens and lights going off, he stumbled, spun and collapsed onto a glasshouse, causing quite a mess and shaking the ground. Intakes screaming, he stayed down for a few minutes before managed to get up onto his elbows.  
'Wow! That was tingly!' he managed, groaning and dropping back. 'You got to try that!'  
'Yeah, looks like fun.' Ironhide replied, leaving Ratchet to recover.

Gazing up at the stars, Ratchet was hit by an irresistible urge to crack up laughing, an urge he followed all too happily. Everyone turned to him, startled by his near hysterical laughter as he lay there, reaching up to the stars.  
'Ohhh, sparkly.' he giggled, attention caught by something else. 'Ohhh, sparkly flames.'  
'Oh dear Primus.' Optimus groaned, not liking the way Ratchet was staring at him.  
'Cut! What's with Ratchet this time?' Bay asked, coming over to join the Autobots.  
'I believe the human term is stoned off his ass.' Jazz offered, deeply disturbed by Ratchet's behaviour.  
'Tingles and sparkles. Tingles and sparkles.'  
'Powerlines, he hit the damn powerlines.' Ironhide scoffed, indicating the now fried wires hanging nearby. Lifting his head a little, Ratchet just giggled again and sunk back, enjoying his buzz.  
'Well, now what?' Bay asked, looking to Optimus for guidance.  
'There's nothing we really can do except wait it out. He'll be like this for some time. Those powerlines gave him quite the jolt.'  
'There's absolutely nothing you can do to speed his recovery? We're on a deadline here.'  
'Unfortunately, the rest of us are only field medics, this is well beyond what we're trained for.'  
'Well, there is one thing that might work. Can't say it'll be good for him but it's worked in the past.' Ironhide shrugged, stepping past Optimus carefully.

Hoisting Ratchet into a seated position and adjusting his lax frame until he was supporting his own weight, Ironhide lined up his shot and smacked Ratchet hard across the back of his helm with an open fist, a loud clang echoing through the area. Groaning and slumping further, Ratchet toppled over sideways and lay still, optics dimming to a particularly pale blue. Hauling Ratchet up again, Ironhide took a knee behind him and ran gentle fingers over his neck and helm, a soft humming note coming from his vocaliser. Groaning softly, Ratchet stirred and blinked, optics brightening as he relaxed back into the gentle touches over his aching head and neck, the occasional crackle of electricity still flowing under his armour.  
'You back with us properly?' Ironhide asked, standing and easing Ratchet upright.  
'Yeah, I think so. Do we get a break soon? I need to lay down and get the rest of that charge out of my system.'  
'The rest of this scene is fairly easy Ratchet, just stay close to Ironhide.' Optimus nodded, watching out for his old friend.  
'That I can do Prime.'

Trying to ignore the throbbing in his processors, Ratchet stayed close to Ironhide, following his cues since he couldn't quite remember the actual scripted cues he was meant to be following.  
'The parents are very irritating.'  
'Yeah, yeah, yeah.' Ratchet bounced, wanting something bright and sparkly to light up the night again.  
'Can I take them out?'  
'Ironhide, you know we don't harm humans. What is with you? And Ratchet, focus.'  
'Well, I'm just saying we could. It's an option. As for Ratchet, he's practically drunk, don't expect too much. I'll handle it.'

#~#+~+#~#

Getting Ratchet back to their base, Ironhide guided him away from everyone else and got him safely to their shared quarters, depositing the bright mech on his berth gently. He'd only gotten worse since their last scene had wrapped, weaving drunkenly over the roads until he'd been boxed in by the other Autobots.  
'Get some rest Ratch, First Aid's gonna cover your next scene. I gotta get back out there but I can get someone in to sit with ya.' he soothed, doing what he could to make Ratchet comfortable.  
'Wheeljack, he'll behave.' Ratchet muttered, rolling onto his side and curling up, chirring pathetically.  
'Alright, I'll comm Wheeljack. Shhh, it's okay Ratch, just relax. You'll be fine soon.' Ironhide nodded, sending a message to the mad inventor before leaning against Ratchet's berth, dark fingers running over his back. 'Shhh, just relax.'  
'Think I'm gonna…' jolting on the berth, Ratchet never did finish what he was going to say, he just purged his tanks all over Ironhide.  
"Wheeljack, grab a cleaning kit on your way. This has really messed Ratchet up."  
"Big purge or just a little mess?"  
"Big, I reckon he just brought up everything he's had in the last 24 hours."  
"What the frag happened to him? He's never purged that bad in all the time I've know him."  
"Powerlines, he took a massive surge to the chest. He's really out of it."  
"But isn't he needed on set?"  
"First Aid's gonna do it, he knows the lines."  
"Right, I'll be there in a couple minutes."  
"Thanks Wheeljack, I gotta get back out to set."

Soothing Ratchet again, Ironhide didn't care about the mess on his armour, he'd take a quick wash before heading back to the set, hopefully Optimus could cover for him long enough.  
'Sorry 'bout that.' Ratchet muttered, lifting his gaze slowly.  
'Don't worry 'bout it Ratch, you're not feeling the best, I get it. Just rest, Wheeljack will be here in a minute and we'll get this mess cleaned up.'  
"Ironhide, what's the hold up? We need you back on set."  
"I'll be there ASAP Prime, Ratchet's really sick. He just purged all over me, gotta take a wash first."  
"Alright, I'll see if I can get Shia to screw up his latest scene to buy you more time."  
"Thanks Prime."

Entering the room, Wheeljack set the cleaning gear down by the door and hurried to check on Ratchet. He wasn't always the first choice but with Ratchet sick and First Aid covering his scenes, there wasn't anyone else available to keep an optic on Ratchet and make sure he was okay.  
'I gotta go now Ratch, just rest. Don't worry about anything, it's all under control.' Ironhide uttered, stroking his back one last time before moving back.  
'Be safe 'Hide.' Ratchet uttered, absolutely miserable but he'd pull through.  
'Keep me posted Wheeljack.' Ironhide instructed, grabbing a rag to wipe off most of the mess on his armour.  
'Will do Ironhide.'

#~#+~+#~#

Even though it had been discussed and scripted, Bumblebee still had some reservations about what he'd been asked to do but right on cue, he dropped a filter on Simmons and proceeded to lubricate on him, figuring if that's what Bay wanted, that's what he'd get.  
'Hey! Hey!'  
'Bumblebee, stop lubricating the man.'  
'Get that thing to stop, huh?'  
"Your turn Aid."  
"You sure I should Ironhide?"  
"Go on, it'll be funny. Might get cut from the movie but it'll make the blooper reel."  
"Well, alright."

Moving closer to the group of humans, First Aid rallied up a good one and took aim, taking Bumblebee's opening and going one step further. Instead of lubricating on the humans, he drew up a good wad of muck from his tanks and let rip, splattering just about all of them with the muck.  
'Ratchet that was uncalled for.' Prime admonished, a little shocked at the spitting.  
"Ironhide's idea, I was just playing along Prime." First Aid commed, unrepentant for his actions. 'I figured if Bumblebee could, why not have a go.' he shrugged, sounding for all the world like Ratchet.  
'Cut! Ratchet, I said no spitting until later.'  
'I'm not Ratchet, I'm First Aid. Ratchet's back at base recovering from the powerlines.'  
'The script says Ratchet, not First Aid. When do we get the real Ratchet back?'  
'Tomorrow hopefully, all depends on how his systems go with all the extra power he got. For now, I'm playing Ratchet and I'm more than capable of playing his part. He had me understudy his role just in case.'  
'Alright, but no more spitting. That's a gag for later in the movie.'  
'Thanks Ironhide, get me in trouble.'  
'Like I said kid, might not make it into the final cut. Hopefully you'll make the blooper reel though, that's where the real fun happens. All the screw-ups and mistakes go there.'  
'Comedy gold, all of it.' Jazz agreed, sniggering at some of the screw-ups already on file.  
'I got a question, what exactly did you just spit at all of us?' Megan asked, her pants streaked with some of First Aid's delivery.  
'Grease, oil, internal lubricants and probably a little something from last night's rations. Nothing serious, it's all harmless to humans.' First Aid replied, remembering his lessons about humans and their tolerances.  
'Uh Aid, didn't you put lead in your rations last night?' Optimus asked, taking a seat on the ground so he wasn't towering so much.  
'Yeah, I usually put some in my rations. Why do you ask Prime?'  
'Humans can be poisoned by lead. You know that right?'  
'Yeah, I know but only if it's directly ingested and in large enough quantities. My scanners indicate that the lead residue in that loogie wasn't enough to harm a human, much less a large group like this. The few particles that came out are barely enough to register on even my sensors.'  
'Very well.'

#~#+~+#~#

Standing ready in his oversized costume, Ultra Magnus knew he had to be patient just a little longer. He'd just received the message that Skydive was destroying the power supply and he'd get his opening scene soon. Prowl and the rest of the Decepticon team were inbound, as was the Autobot team, now it was down to the humans, Bumblebee, Rewind and Ultra Magnus. It was just a matter of time and everything would get big, messy and very noisy.

In the second set under Hoover Dam, Bumblebee couldn't say he was enjoying his cold treatment but it was all part of the story and he'd play along, thinking off the payday at the end of the film. That's what mattered, the big payday that was coming. Howling like a wounded mechanical beast and playing up the bad feelings, he waited for his rescue, knowing Shia wouldn't let him down.  
'Are you okay?' Shia asked, looking up at Bee, still prone on the torture rack. 'They didn't hurt you, right?' battle mask snapping down, Bee spun out his arm cannon and swept the room, shifting onto his side smoothly. 'Listen to me. The Cube is here and the Decepticons are coming.'

Sitting up, Bumblebee continued sweeping the room, definitely not happy about his imprisonment and icy treatments.  
'No, no, don't worry about them. They're okay. Right? They're not gonna hurt you. Just back up a little bit. He's friendly. He's fine. Okay, come on. Put the guns down. They're not gonna hurt you.' battle mask slipping up again, Bee appeared to relax a little but his cannon was still pulsing in warning. 'Here, come with me. I'm gonna take you to the AllSpark.'

Entering the Cube set, Bumblebee had to admit, the Cube that Wheeljack had built was impressive. It dwarfed everything in the room, the faces carved with hieroglyphs and ancient words from Cybertron's long forgotten past. The big question was would it do what it was meant to do. Approaching the Cube, Bee reached up to it, touching the corner piece directly over his head. A surge of energy raced across the surface of the Cube, lighting up the writing on the sides and creating something beautiful. Then the Cube started to transform, thousands of cubes the same size as the corner one folding in and disappearing. It was all a trick, a great use of mass shifting and subspace. It clicked and clattered down and down, folding into itself and shrinking until it was just one small cube that fit nicely in Bumblebee's hand.  
'Message from Starfleet, Captain. Let's get to it.'  
'He's right. We stay here, we're screwed with Megatron in the other hanger. Mission City is 22 miles away. We're gonna sneak that Cube out of here and we're gonna hide it somewhere in the city.'  
'Good! Right.'  
'But we cannot make a stand without the Air Force.'  
'This place must have some kind of radio link! Yes. Shortwave, CB.'  
'Right, yes.'  
'Sir, you gotta figure out some way to get word to them. Let's move!'  
'In the alien archive, Sir.'  
'The alien…'  
'There's an old Army radio console.'  
'Will it work?'  
'Anything's possible! Did you see that…'  
'All right, Sam, get in the car! Mr Secretary! Get our birds in the air. When we get to the city, we're gonna find a radio, and I'll have Epps vector them in, okay?'  
'Affirmative!'

Finally getting his cue, Ultra Magnus started to move, shattering the ice caking his frame and tearing free of the restraints attempting to hold him firm. He still had to be careful of humans but there weren't many to worry about and the one that hit his shoulder was quickly sent to safety.  
'I am Megatron!' he growled, going on the attack with all his anger. Tearing through the set, he set debris everywhere and humans were running in terror, truly caught up in the moment. They tried to regain control with their man portable freezing units but it was all in vain. Vaulting off the platform, Ultra Magnus transformed ad took off, his harsh Cybertronian jet an ugly thing but it would serve the purpose.

Rocketing along outside the base, he approached the wall of Hoover Dam and shot up, transforming on the fly and thudding back down hard on the concrete as Skydive ripped past in his much sleeker Decepticon false-form before coming around, transforming and landing higher up the dam structure.  
'I live to serve you, Lord Megatron.'  
'Where is the Cube?'  
'The humans have taken it.'  
'You fail me yet again, Starscream. Get them!'  
"Whoa, you do a good Megatron, Ultra Magnus."  
"This is so wrong. I pray word of this never gets back to Cybertron."  
"They won't care, you die at the end of this movie."  
"Yeah, killed by Shia, I know."  
"Come on, let's fly."  
"Just take it easy, I'm still learning to fly."

#~#+~+#~#

Racing into the area marked for the highway battle for the second time, Optimus was focused on his moves, waiting for Hound to come up in his Bonecrusher costume. The last time they'd tried this, Hound had gotten tangled up and fallen, managing to land on the grass off to the side instead of tearing up the highway. This time he knew what to expect and was ready. Transforming at speed, Hound dug into the surface and took off running, Optimus clearing the bridge and matching his explosive, high speed transformation.

Skating down the highway and crashing through the rigged bus, Hound was right on target, aimed and ready for the fight. He wasn't in this scene for long but he'd be back soon in a new costume with some extra help to control it. Crunching into Prime, the pair went over the upper edge and crashed down on the lower highway, trading blows and getting into their fight. Optimus knew he had to avoid the chest and worked with that, one mighty fist slamming into the head and crushing it, knocking Hound back off the highways and jumping after him.

Hitting the ground below, Hound swung his big fork and tried to get at Prime but he'd taken shelter behind one of the support pillars for the set. Bringing out his own sword, Optimus swung out from behind a second pillar and got him around the neck, driving his sword up through Bonecrusher's head in a devastating killing blow. Tossed aside like so much wreckage, Hound lay back and waited for Optimus to leave, his time as Bonecrusher at an end.  
"You alright Hound?"  
"Yeah Prime, I'm good. Nicely done, quick and clean."  
"You really didn't have to grope my aft though, did you?"  
"Sorry about that, my aim was off. I was going for the lower back."  
"I forgive you, just don't do it again."  
"If this is your reaction to an accidental aft grope, I won't."  
"Funny Hound, real funny."

#~#+~+#~#

Giving his all to his last scene, Rewind broke out of the air ducts and went on a rampage, taking some serious fire and returning his best. He knew this was a death scene but he had no fear in facing it, Blaster was right outside for him and the movie fake for the actual death was in place. All he had to do was be in position and duck on cue.

Falling off the exposed ducts and crashing into a glass case, he jumped up and rolled clear of another wave of gunfire, scrambling behind the pillar that held his death double.  
'He's behind the pillar!'

Back and forth the gunfire went, his mini-gattling guns against shotguns and a flamethrower that he'd already faced once. Launching another couple shuriken, Rewind was really enjoying this movie business, he hadn't had fun like this is a long time.  
'Shoot that mother…'  
'Maggie, cover fire!'  
'It's the Air Force! They're responding!'

Taking a hit to the face and spinning around, Rewind scrambled back behind cover and shook his head to clear the fog. The damage was minor but it had certainly stung badly.  
'Sucker, burn!' and here came that flamethrower again but that meant Rewind was getting close to the end of his part.

Launching another shuriken, he ducked out of sight as the camera followed it around the room. Ripping open the hiding place, he pulled out the death double and got it upright, turning it to face the returning shuriken just in time. It slammed into the fake head, tearing it apart and leaving just a lonely optic on a stalk as Rewind made the body collapse and gave his last line.  
'Oh, shit!'  
'Yes! They're sending F-22s to the city!'  
'And cut!'

Getting to her feet, Rachael picked her way through the destruction to where Rewind was sitting, scorched and dented but otherwise intact. They were all looking the worse for wear but little Rewind, one of the smallest cast members had taken quite the beating.  
'You okay Rewind?' she asked, crouching and gently picking him up.  
'Yeah, I'm okay Rachael. Took a big piece of debris to the head but I'll be fine.' Rewind nodded, quite proud of his new dents. 'I've had so much fun doing this.'  
'It's been a joy working alongside you Rewind. Even if your character is absolutely fuckin' mental.'  
'Believe me Anthony, the real Frenzy was twice as crazy.'  
'The real Frenzy? I though he was just a character.'  
'No John, all the Decepticons mentioned in this film did exist, a long time ago. We trashed them, took a while but the Autobots did eventually claim victory.'  
'There is so much we still don't know about your people.'  
'If there are any more of these movies, you might just get to learn a bit more Jon.'  
'Rewind, you alright in there?' Blaster called, his bright frame filling the doorway.  
'Yeah dad, I'm alright. Few new dents and dings but I'm intact.'  
'You still up for your next scene or should Eject go instead?'  
'Let Eject go, it's a costume job. Hound won't mind either way, we're both small enough to fit that spot.'  
'Alright, I'll get Eject over there. You stay with Rachael until I get back, okay? If you don't mind of course, Rachael.'  
'It's fine Blaster, I have no problems with keeping an eye on Rewind for a while.'

#~#+~+#~#

Gathering for the truly epic final battle scene, everyone was on edge. This was going to be a hard scene, everyone was going to be feeling it afterwards but some were feeling even less excited about it. Bumblebee was particularly upset about this scene, this was where he took a severe pounding and had to rely on someone else for help. He'd still go along with the scene though and hope to Primus that Ratchet could put him back together after it was all said and done.  
'You ready for this scene Bee?'  
'How could I possibly be ready to get my legs blown off Ratchet? This is going to fragging hurt.'  
'It'll be alright little Bee, I've already got everything organised back at base to put you back together. It'll be a nice easy repair, promise. First Aid is standing by to give you a quick once over when Megan gets you to safety before you come back out all cannons blazing.'  
'Thanks Ratchet.' Bumblebee nodded, surprising the humans when he wrapped his arms around the chartreuse medic in a hug.  
'You're a brave bot for facing this one Bee, it's hardly going to be pleasant and for one so young.' Ratchet sighed, so very proud of Bumblebee for stepping up to the challenge.  
'I'll be okay Ratchet, it's a minor beating compared to the one Prime's gonna take.'  
'Well that's one way to look at it little Bee. Go on, to your place.' Ratchet chuckled, watching Bumblebee for a moment before heading for his opening position.

Coming in low over the set, Skydive was right on the money, racing overhead as the Autobots pulled up on street level. Listening to the lines and keeping some of his focus on Skydive overhead, Bumblebee braced for what was coming and drew comfort from the support of his friends, all gathered around him. Reacting to the jet overhead, Ironhide transformed and stood, opening the action sequence with a roar.  
'It's Starscream!'  
'Please tell me you copy.'  
'Back up! Take cover! Bumblebee!'

Hustling forward and grabbing the waiting Furby truck, Ironhide and Bumblebee hoisted it upright as a rudimentary shield to block the incoming missile. Behind them, the humans were in a flurry, running and screaming in every direction as they tried to clear the area before the boom. Even though the charge in the truck was a small one, it still had more than enough force to propel Ironhide and Bumblebee well back and into the appropriate buildings.  
"You okay Bee?"  
"I'm hanging in there Ironhide. Hurts as expected but I'm okay."  
"Just hang in there Bee, we'll get you to First Aid real soon."  
"Just roll with the script, I know."  
"If it gets too bad, let me know."  
"I will Ratchet."

Up the other end of the set, Hound and Eject were secure in their shared costume, Hound controlling Devastator and Eject tasked with the weapons. It was an easy enough role for the little Autobot, all he had to do was aim at the squibs down range and wait for each explosion before moving to the next. It wouldn't be so easy once they got up on their feet though, they had to contend with a combined Autobot force against them and still look like they were actually one big Decepticon.  
"Okay, here we go Eject. Ironhide inbound. Jazz will be on us soon and then Ratchet."  
"Got it covered Hound. Let's do this."

Cutting loose, Ironhide transformed on the fly and kicked off, flying over the first two false missiles and firing his cannons into the ground to propel another flip along the street. He didn't actually fire them, the effect of destroying the street would be added later. Instead he used a couple of hydraulic rams for the punch needed. Landing near one of the extras, he launched again, narrowly avoiding another shot from Devastator. Roaring onto the scene, Jazz transformed and jumped, grabbing the cannon barrel and heaving, forcing the next shot off course and bringing Devastator to his feet.  
"Alright Eject, he's all yours."  
"I got him Hound."

Taking the controls for the arms, Eject grabbed Jazz once he'd kicked off one of the missile pods. Swinging around, Eject flung Jazz into the marked building, the silver Autobot flying well and landing in a messy heap, covered in dirt and debris.  
"Now for the real fun. Ratchet, Jazz and Ironhide then N.E.S.T."  
"We can do it Hound."

Focused on their job, the pair inside Devastator knew they had to display perfect timing to avoid any undue damage but it was difficult to coordinate everything in the suit. Ironhide fired first, his long range missiles swinging around wide and coming at the double armoured chest. Jazz slid in along the ground, firing up into the heavy duty armour protecting the pair. The squibs were nearly blinding to the pair inside but they were totally safe. Then Ratchet joined in, flying high and bringing his buzz saw into the game, slicing through one arm before landing on the other side. Charging forward, the humans got involved as well, opening fire on the costume but also very aware of the two Autobots inside.

Kicking off and launching backwards on cue, Devastator dropped to the ground, the pair inside shaken up but alive and unharmed by their adventures in acting.  
"Whoa, talk about a rush. Now I get why Rewind was so excited to be Frenzy."  
"This Devastator costume is more fun than Bonecrusher. He died way to easily."  
"Prime's sword to the head will do that."  
"You two okay in there?"  
"Yeah Ratchet, we're fine. Shaken but so glad to be doing this job."  
"Just chill out there for a while guys, Devastator will be back soon enough."  
"And next time Silverbolt's around to really give you something to worry about."  
"Hardly a concern Hound."  
"You would say that Ironhide."  
"So we're just waiting for Jazz's death and then we're back up, right?"  
"Aw slag, is that up next? Just when I was havin' fun too."  
"Never mind Jazz, you can always come back as a costume bot. It's not such a bad deal."

Making his big arrival, Ultra Magnus roared and turned, sending the Autobots scrambling back.  
'It's Megatron! Retreat!'  
'Move! Fall back!'

Coming around the corner, Ultra Magnus looked down at Jazz, weapon raised in readiness for the fight. Taking aim, Jazz fired at the bigger enemy, nailing Ultra Magnus in the shoulder. Returning the favour, Ultra Magnus sent Jazz flying, the silver bot landing heavily not too far away.  
"Where's the death double Jazz? It's time."  
"In that storefront there. It's all ready to go."  
"And this one fights back."  
"It's got two shots and that's about it."  
"Got it."

Scrambling to his feet, Jazz took off away from the set, disappearing behind the buildings as Ultra Magnus grabbed the death double and shuddered at just how realistic it looked.  
"This is so wrong."  
"It's only going to feel worse when the cameras are back on you. That death double is rigged with a speaker system. I've still got lines before you do your thing."  
"This one moves too. Rewind's didn't, right?"  
"His didn't have to, it just had to stand there and take a shuriken to the head. I actually fight back before the end."  
"So very distasteful." Ultra Magnus sighed, kicking off and racing to his next camera spot, the death double clutched in his hands.

Tossing it onto the clock tower and landing on it, Ultra Magnus found it easier to work with the fake by imagining it was a real Decepticon and he was all powerful.  
'That all you got Megatron?' Jazz scoffed, the double squirming under his feet.  
'Come here, little cretin.' Megatron replied, reaching down and grabbing the double in one hand. Dangling by the leg, the double fired twice, one in the knee and one in the side.  
'You want a piece of me? You want a piece?'  
'No! I want two!'  
"Nicely done Ultra Magnus. Now you've just got to duke it out with Optimus and get killed by a human and you're all done."  
"What am I supposed to do with the double now?"  
"Hang onto it for the moment, you toss it aside when you see Optimus."  
"This just gets better and better, doesn't it."

Leaning forward more, in an attempt to see where Optimus was, Ultra Magnus wobbled for a moment before he overbalanced and tumbled to the ground, landing with quite a racket and a very big tangle to sort out.  
'Cut! What the hell was that?'  
'It was Ultra Magnus.' Jazz replied, emerging from his hiding spot and hurrying to Ultra Magnus' side. 'Ratchet! You'd better get over here!'  
'On my way. We can't get far without our Megatron.' Ratchet replied, hustling towards the scene.  
"When you have finished over there Ratchet, I require assistance as well."  
'First Aid, you busy?'  
'Not at the moment Ratchet, what do you need?'  
'Find Prime, he needs help too.'  
'You got it Ratchet.'

#~#+~+#~#

Absolutely humiliated by their double screw up, Optimus and Ultra Magnus sat back and watched the destruction unfolding as a work crew busily reset their staging points for another attempt at the scene. They weren't needed right at the moment, everyone on set was busy dealing with Devastator and Blackout or clearing Bumblebee out of the way.  
'So what happened in the alley?'  
'I was quietly approaching my staging point and got tangled up in the trash the set decorators had put there. Apparently one of them thought it was a good idea to hide a loose coil of cable in the mix. I caught the end of the cable and got it all tangled in my undercarriage.'  
'Ouch, now that's undignified. Bet First Aid had a lot of fun getting that clear.'  
'He had a look but due to the position of the tangle and my inability to move, one of the crew had to go in and manually untangle the cable. It was most uncomfortable.'  
'Least you didn't do a nice swan dive into the bitumen, now that hurt. Thankfully someone thought to load the spares for my costume so the cleanup wasn't too bad. The crew is still busy repairing the roadway.'

Back on scene, Bumblebee was still patently waiting to get out of the immediate danger, stuck listening to the humans and watching his friends engaging without him. He didn't like being out of the action but he trusted Ratchet's promise of a speedy repair after filming was wrapped. He wanted to run with Ironhide and Ratchet, the pair playing the hero and firing in turn to keep Shia safe but right now he had to trust in Megan to clear him out of the way and get him to where First Aid was waiting.

Back on track, Optimus rumbled through the same alley that had tangled him up and spun the corner, tires squealing as he came to a stop before surging through his transformation, focused on his nemesis, perched on the clock tower.  
'Megatron!'  
'Prime.' Ultra Magnus snarled, tossing aside the death double remains and launching from the clock tower, transforming on the drop and charging Optimus. Running into his flight path, Optimus jumped up and grabbed hold, legs flailing as he was yanked along for the ride.  
"Oohhh frag. Fly straight for a while, you're gonna make me purge here."  
"Hold on, here comes the building."  
"Really looking forward to a long rest after this movie is done."  
"I think everyone is Optimus, this has been a long, hard thing."

Coming down hard on the bitumen again, the pair tumbled through the debris, trading a few blows before coming to a stop, Ultra Magnus still holding the upper hand.  
'Humans don't deserve to live.'  
'They deserve to choose for themselves.'  
'Then you will die with them!' Ultra Magnus snarled, hurling Optimus down the street and into a yet another stunt car. 'Join them in extinction!' he roared, bringing out his big fusion cannon. Gaining his feet again, Optimus charged into battle, unhooking his cannon from his back and firing at Ultra Magnus. The shot was good, hitting the reinforced plate on his shoulder and spinning him around. Levelling his fusion cannon again, Ultra Magnus returned fire, hitting Prime in a reinforced plate in his chest and sending him flying. So glad this was all filmed in a purpose built set with hundreds of stunt people, Optimus braced for the impending impact.

Slamming into the office tower, he hung there for a bit longer than scripted, one foot stuck in the building. This was a bad place to be stuck, halfway up an office tower, head down and hands gripping the wall for support but right now, he didn't have a choice. Wriggling his foot a bit more, he finally got free and tumbled back down to ground level, taking the heavy impact across his back with a deep, pained groan.  
"You okay, you seemed to hang there for longer than needed?"  
"My foot got stuck in the floor, I'm good."

#~#+~+#~#

Careening through his entrance into the fighting, Skydive transformed on the wing and came skidding down the street, crashing through a group of parked cars and almost flattening Shia but he managed to clear the danger zone. Engaging him, Ratchet and Ironhide weren't exactly looking forward to this beating. Minigun rumbling to life, Skydive peppered Ratchet's exposed back, dozens of squibs going off in quick succession on sensitive plating. The launched missiles did more damage, putting both brave Autobots on the ground but they weren't staying down.

Transforming again, Skydive raced from the scene as Ironhide and Ratchet sagged to the ground, definitely hurting after that round.  
'Sam, get to the building!'  
"You two alright back there?"  
"Yeah, a little sore in spots but we're fine."  
"Seriously Skydive, in the aft?"  
"Decepticons take whatever target they can get, Ratchet."  
"True enough."

Racing into the main action, Ultra Magnus transformed and started after Shia, tossing aside cars and focusing on the actor that always seemed to be right in the thick of things.  
"Remember Ultra Magnus, gentle on Shia. He's a fragile little co-star."  
"I haven't forgotten Ratchet. So many things to look out for but I'm on top of it all."

Smashing through the big glass window, Ultra Magnus roared his displeasure and started tracking Shia through the building, knowing just where this was leading and that his time as Megatron was coming to a close.  
'I smell you, boy!' he called, waiting a few seconds before starting to tear through the ceiling, opening up the floor just behind Shia as he ran like hell. Roaring and snarling, Ultra Magnus kept up the chase, throwing taunts and charging onwards and upwards through the old building.

#~#+~+#~#

Back outside, First Aid had to think real fast to avoid Megan as she pulled up with Bumblebee, the young medic jumping back to avoid a painful impact against his shin armour.  
'How you holding up Bee?' he asked, taking a knee and capping lines and conduits quickly.  
'Having the time of my life Aid. You don't know what you're missing out there.'  
'I've had my spin in front of the cameras, remember? I spat on John Turturro and company.'  
'Heh, compared to this scene, you were barely a flash on the flim.'  
'Maybe next time around.' First Aid chuckled, wondering if he could get more screen time, even if he was in a costume. 'Got your guards here if you want them.'  
'Considering the scene, those are definitely a good idea.'

Climbing out of the tow truck and up to lean on Bee's shoulder, Megan watched as First Aid fitted the transparent covers to what remained of Bumblebee's legs.  
'Protective guards, can't see them once they're on but these things will protect these injuries from further damage.' First Aid explained, securing the guards into place and making sure they were firm.  
'Most of the Autobots are wearing them for that little extra protection to vital areas.' Bumblebee added, reaching under his chest armour and doing something before peeling off a transparent layer from his chestplates. 'Ratchet made sure Prime was wearing his helm guard too, he's always taking hits to the head.'  
'Ironhide's in a full set, you know what he's like.' First Aid chuckled, checking both guards were firm and not going to shift. 'Come on Bee, chest guard back on and you're right to go.'  
'Thanks First Aid.'

Knowing Bee would be joining the fight any minute, Hound and Eject were having fun with the human actors, trading fire and taking a pounding.  
"Here I come Hound, I'm gonna get you."  
"We're ready for you Bee. Make it good."  
"Do I still get that thing you promised Bee?"  
"Of course Eject, get Josh to help you get through."  
"Thanks Bee."

Charging into the action with Megan, Bumblebee opened fire on the Devastator costume, the low powered weapons enough to create a bright flash but not actually be dangerous, despite how it looked. Drawing fire away from the humans, Megan kept them on course for the link-up with the soldiers, Bumblebee picking away at the bigger Decepticon. Nailing each weapon as it came his way, Bee had a good rhythm going, his work backed up by plenty more squibs from the pyrotechnics guys. Ramming through cars and dealing out heavy firepower, Bee still had to remember to hang on from time to time, the stunt driver's reverse driving certainly an experience but not one he was in any hurry to do again.

Lining up on the drop zone, Hound and Eject braced for the impact, Bee's final shot slamming into the chest of their shared costume and tipping them over into the building. The impact definitely hurt, leaving them both a little dazed as Bee pulled up outside the building, chirping at their efforts. Climbing out of the tow truck, Megan wandered back to look at the destruction, praising Bee's shooting as she went.  
'That tank is definitely dead now.'  
'All right, let's go! We got business!'

Crawling out of the costume, Eject stood and shook the dust of his frame, picking his way through the debris to grab Josh's pants to get his attention.  
'Hey now, what are you doing out here Eject? You can't be seen on camera.'  
'I know, I'm gonna hide with Bumblebee for a while.' Eject replied, heading for the window. 'We've already got a plan, I just need some help getting to him without being spotted.'  
'That we can manage. The focus is on Shia for a while, up you come.' Josh grinned, hoisting the tiny Autobot into his arms. 'Now you stay out of sight Eject. I don't really want to have to re-shoot a scene because you poked your head out.'  
'I'll be good Josh, promise. No one will even know I'm around.' Eject promised, climbing from Josh's arms into Megan's. 'Thanks Josh.' he added, relaxing into Megan's arms as she turned back to Bumblebee.  
'Up you come little one, I've got you now.' Bumblebee coaxed, armour shifting to reveal a hollow under his chest armour, protected by his right arm.  
'Oh, I get it now. You're going to hide away in there and stay safe with us for a while.' Megan grinned, climbing up onto the truck and helping Eject into his little hiding spot.  
'You all right in there Eject?'  
'Yeah, it's a tight fit but I'm ready to go Bumblebee.'  
'Alright then little one. I'll protect you, just relax.' Bumblebee promised, armour shifting back into place to secure Eject's hiding spot.

#~#+~+#~#

Knowing that Shia was in such a precarious position, Fireflight was hidden in the building as well, ready to jump out and catch the human if he fell before Optimus was in place or out of position to make the catch safely. It was a challenge for him to stay out of sight, the building had quite a few holes in it but he'd found a spot to hide.

Running into position, Optimus avoided putting another hole in the building near Fireflight and headed for his next spot, listening to the chaos on the roof. Running for the corner he'd been told to use, Shia was running on adrenaline, Ultra Magnus bursting through the roof and climbing up to tower over the scene again. Climbing up onto the corner and gripping the statue there, Shia knew one slip would be a painful fall but he had faith that Fireflight wouldn't let it be a fatal fall. Instead, it was Ultra Magnus that took a fall, putting his weight on the wrong section of the rooftop and dropping right through.  
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"  
"You okay Ultra Magnus?"  
"I'll let you know as soon as I get back to the rooftop. I'm back on the ground floor."  
"So can I stop hanging between these buildings?"  
"Nope, I've got a quick way up." Ultra Magnus replied, engaging his thrusters and flying back up to the rooftop then climbing out again. "Hopefully my disappearance can be edited out." He added, back on track with his lines. 'Is it fear or courage that compels you, fleshling?'  
"Surely it can."

The fear in Shia's eyes wasn't fake, even though he had a safety line above and Fireflight below, this was a really bad place to be standing with Megatron so close and a long fall to the streets below.  
'Give me the AllSpark and you may live to be my pet.'  
'Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I'm never giving you this AllSpark!'  
'Oh, so unwise.'  
"Optimus, I hope you're ready. Shia's coming your way."  
"I'm in position Fireflight."

Letting out a scream as he launched off the statue, Shia had to believe that one of three safety nets would catch him before he went too far. Tumbling over in the air, he was safely caught by Optimus, the mighty bot swinging his hand through the catch to lessen the impact on Shia's body.  
'I got you, boy.' Optimus promised, hoisting Shia onto his chest as he hung between two buildings. 'Hold onto the Cube!' he added, launching from his spot and bouncing between the two buildings to get to the ground. It wasn't the gentlest way down, but it sure was the fastest way.

Chasing after Optimus, Ultra Magnus caught him about halfway down the buildings and they came crashing down the street level together, Shia safely enclosed in a protective blanket hidden in Optimus' hand. Hitting the ground hard, Optimus quickly checked that Shia had survived the fall intact, relieved to see the blanket had done its job.  
'Sam? You risked your life to protect the Cube.'  
'No sacrifice, no victory.'  
'If I cannot defeat Megatron, you must push the Cube into my chest. I will sacrifice myself to destroy it.'  
"Like hell you will Optimus."  
"It's just a line Wheeljack. You know Megatron cops it instead."  
"I'm just saying."  
"Gotta go Wheeljack, lines to deliver."  
"10-4 Optimus."  
'Get behind me.'

Waiting for Shia to get clear, Optimus half rolled and looked at Ultra Magnus, just as battered and sore but there was still more to be done.  
'It's you and me, Megatron.'  
'No, it's just me, Prime.'  
'At the end of this day, one shall stand, one shall fall.'  
"And you'll both be in my repair bay."  
"Not now Ratchet."

Getting the upper hand again, Ultra Magnus gave Optimus a solid beat down, figuring it he was going to be a bad guy, he might as well give the fans something to hate him about.  
'You still fight for the weak! That is why you lose!'  
"You're really getting into this now, aren't you?"  
"Not often anyone gets to throw around the great Optimus Prime."

Coming in for his part in the big final battle, Silverbolt transformed on the move and landed in the street, rotors shuffling around to his back comfortably. He was actually starting to enjoy his rotary flight mode, hoping to keep it after filming had ended. Popping out his tail rotor, he whirled it up to speed and advanced on the duelling pair further up the road. First he had to deal with a load more squibs and his death in the film. Reacting to the green laser on his arm, he turned and opened fire on the humans, focus shifting for the moment. He knew what was coming and braced for the impact, trusting in his guards to keep him safe as the biggest squibs went off on his chest and abdomen. Roaring out his death knell, Silverbolt crashed to the ground, sensors trained on Josh, who had just skidded between his legs.

High overhead, Skydive had to admire Hound's talent with holograms all over again. He was actually flying with some Raptors and three old aircraft, planes that were pretty much at the end of their lives but they looked like brand new Raptors. Those three fakes were remote controlled and the targets for this attack, each one torn to pieces and left to crash in sequence as Skydive played with the other fighters, everything flowing and graceful.

Back down on the ground, the tables had turned. Now it was Ultra Magnus' turn to take a beating, the large squibs exploding as the Raptors swooped past, the missiles would be added later as CGI. Tired and aching all over, Optimus surged to protect Sam from Ultra Magnus' charge, tripping him up with one heavy blow to his shins from a well armoured forearm. Tumbling to the ground, Ultra Magnus turned and started to advance on Shia, the human scrabbling through the debris on his back.  
'I'll kill you! Mine! AllSpark!'  
'Sam! Put the Cube in my chest! Now! Sam!'

Getting to his feet, Shia approached Ultra Magnus and raised the Cube up, the AllSpark reacting to something hidden in the costume and pouring into the armoured costume chest.  
"Wheeljack, this feels really weird."  
"Just relax Ultra Magnus, it's a simple magnetic trick. I'm keeping an optic on what's happening, everything is just fine."  
"Then why is it getting so hot in here?"  
"It's the chemical reaction in the costume. From the outside it looks like your chest is melting due to the power of the Cube. You're perfectly safe, Ratchet put a protective barrier inside the costume."  
"I hope you're right about this."

Surging back when he felt a particularly hard kick in the chest, Ultra Magnus crashed to his knees and collapsed with a pained roar, twitching and surging for a moment before going still, his false red optics flickering in death. Easing to his feet, Optimus approached the fallen false Megatron and looked down at him, hoping Ultra Magnus was alright in the suit.  
'You left me no choice, brother.'

Gathering together again, Ironhide carried with him the broken remains of Jazz's death double, a final tribute to a fallen friend. Behind him came Ratchet, silent and steadfast after all they had endured. Getting down low, Optimus turned his full focus to Shia, remembering another young man that had stood with them on the battlefields of old and helped them win their freedom.  
'Sam, I owe you my life. We are in your debt.' he offered, leaving Shia silent as he straightened and turned to his Autobot brethren as Megan pulled up with Bumblebee still safely secured to the tow truck. Jumping down, she came around to stand beside the battered yellow bot, friendship unbreakable now.

Coming up beside Optimus, Ironhide gently handed over the cold, dark stand in, knowing that Jazz was around somewhere watching them mourn his loss.  
'Prime, we couldn't save him.'  
'Aww, Jazz.' Prime sighed, gazing at the still face that had once been so lively. 'We lost a great comrade but gained new ones. Thank you, all of you. You honour us with your bravery.'  
"Oh boy, it's finally time." Bumblebee cheered over the comms. 'Permission to speak, Sir?'  
'Permission granted, old friend.'  
'You speak now?'  
'I wish to stay with the boy.'  
'If that is his choice.'  
'…yes.'

Handing the remains back to Ironhide gently, Optimus returned to Ultra Magnus' side, reaching into the glowing hole in his chest and retrieving a small shard of the Cube, a tiny light of hope. Clasping it firmly in his fist, he stared out over the ruins of the city.  
'Cut!'  
'Thank Primus. Get me outta this thing!' Ultra Magnus demanded, releasing the clamps holding his talons on and reaching up to yank the false helmet off.  
'I've got it, brother.' Optimus chuckled, releasing the catches and helping Ultra Magnus shed the heavy costume.  
'If we ever make another movie and I wind up playing another big bad guy, I'm demanding more padding in the costume.'  
'At least you have the option of padding, Ultra Magnus.'

#~#+~+#~#

Standing on the grassy hill to do what would be their last scene for the movie, Optimus was still feeling sore but he knew he could pull this one off before spending some much needed time in Ratchet's care. All he really had to do was stand there and deliver his monologue, there was no real challenge involved for him. Shia, Megan, Bumblebee, Ratchet and Ironhide were all up here with him, the two humans kissing on Bumblebee's hood.  
'With the AllSpark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward, a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret, waiting, protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage. And though we are worlds apart, like us…um…uh…oh fraggit. What's my line again?' Optimus called, stunned he'd managed to screw up even this incredibly simple scene.  
'And though we are worlds apart, like us, there's more to them than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We are waiting.' Ratchet replied, stunned by the line drop and public ask for assistance.  
'Okay, from the top.'

Relaxing and running through the lines again, Optimus was once again grateful that his embarrassment wasn't as obvious as it was with humans. A simple monologue and he'd gotten it wrong.  
'With the AllSpark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward, a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret, waiting, protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage. And though we are worlds apart, like us, there's more to them than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We are waiting.'  
'Cut! That's a wrap people!'

Sagging to the ground with a spark-felt groan, Optimus eased back to rest his aching body after a very rough time with filming this movie. He was vaguely aware of the film crew packing up their equipment and leaving the Autobots to relax but he didn't care, he was reasonably comfortable and many of his aches and pains were easing as he lay there calmly.  
'So that's it, huh?' Ratchet asked, transforming and stretching out beside Optimus.  
'Unless we are needed for retakes or promotional photos, we are done until the film debuts. For now, we can rest and recover from this movie.' Optimus replied, optics dim as he relaxed.  
'It'll be nice to relax for a while, this movie business is rough on the old frame.' Ironhide added, joining Ratchet and Optimus on the grass. 'Hey you two, how about giving Bee a chance to stretch out.'  
'Huh? Oh yeah, sorry about that Bumblebee.' Shia grinned, rolling off the hood with Megan and heading over to sit beside Optimus, leaning back against his shoulder comfortably.  
'It's alright Shia, I was almost in recharge anyway.' Bumblebee replied, transforming and stretching out right where he was. 'I'm just glad the filming is over, I'm exhausted.'  
'We've got company coming this way.' Ratchet warned, registering friendly identifiers but too tired to ask just who was out there.  
'Here comes Silverbolt and company.' Optimus added, pointing to five figures coming towards them from the north, four fighters and a chopper in the darkening dusk. 'Looks like Silverbolt and Skydive are keeping their movie forms.'

Coming together on the hill, all the battered and exhausted Autobot actors stretched out on the grass and relaxed, stretching out aching joints and unwinding after a very strenuous effort.  
'Thank Primus that's over. I never want to see that damn Scorponok costume again.' Gears sighed, a few new dents marring his armour from the costume.  
'I know I'm in the clear, Bonecrusher and Devastator were both destroyed. If we ever make another movie like this, I'll get something new.' Hound added, gazing up at the first stars of the night.  
'I wouldn't mind doing another film, I had fun once I got past being Starscream.' Skydive shrugged, settling beside Silverbolt happily. 'I'm definitely keeping this alt-mode, I love it.'  
'I can definitely see the advantages of this one as well. I'm still not sure about the rotors but I'll adjust with a little more practise. As for another movie, I'm not so sure about that idea.' Silverbolt nodded, adjusting to his darker colouration as well.  
'Do we have to talk about doing another one? This one hurt enough.' Prowl groaned, easing down beside Bumblebee. 'Talk about a beating but we did look good for the cameras.'  
'I heard that in the special release of the movie on DVD, there are going to be extended scenes. One of them is our full brawl in the industrial lot.' Bumblebee offered, quite proud of that fight.  
'I have to ask Rewind, we're you using some kind of patch to play such a realistic Frenzy?'  
'Yeah Prowl, Blaster made it for me to use. Too much?'  
'Nah, I swore we had the real Frenzy running around on set.' Jazz smirked, settling near Prowl and rolling onto his side.  
'Yep, little too much then.'


	2. Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

Looking at the new character designs and reading over the finished scripts, Optimus was briefly concerned about having accepted this job but he had confidence in his team to pull off another smash hit. They had a lot of work to be done before filming could begin though. Four costumes from the previous movie had to be repaired and altered for the second, seventeen new costumes needed to be built, including a massive nine-bot combiner, all with personalities and paint schemes. Another dozen costumes weren't so detailed, just plain grey protoforms to fit any available Autobots. This biggest challenge came from the smallest of the new cast though, the hundreds of little puppets that had to be built; Wheelie, Scalpel, a tiny Insecticon and hundreds of little microcons to create Reedman. There were lines to rehearse and save to rapid access memory files, battles to practice and so many other little details but they knew they'd get it all done on time and budget. There were some pre-production problems but those were quickly figured out and corrected so everything could begin.

#~#+~+#~#

Called in to assist the Arcee sisters and the twins with Sideways, Sideswipe raced around the corner and transformed, locked onto the signal Sideways was leaving.  
"Such a shame Smokescreen, you get all of four minutes screen time."  
"No biggie Sideswipe."  
'Whoa! Oh frag! Oof!' Sideswipe yelped, spinning out and crashing into one of the buildings. 'Fuck it.'  
'Cut! Sideswipe, what the hell was that?'  
'Hey, you're the one that wanted a speed skating Corvette. I'm doing the best I can here Michael.'  
'Reset, we'll go from Sideswipe's first appearance again.'

Crawling out of the building, Sideswipe stood and focused on his rear tyres. He knew he could do this speed skating thing, he'd already had plenty of practise but tonight, when it counted, it just wasn't happening. Running a few short practise laps of a side street, he got his confidence up again then promptly fouled it up again, crunching down hard in the splits.  
'Come on Sideswipe, get it together!'  
'Alright, alright, I'm sorry. You asked for this sort of thing though.' Sideswipe sighed, regaining his feet and having another attempt at the sharp turns he needed to perfect.

Racing onto scene for a third time, Sideswipe got his transformation and stuck the switch, sword sending up a shower of sparks as he got after Smokescreen. Showing that he really did have a handle on this speed skating stuff, he got through the rest of the scene with Smokescreen without another slip up, vaulting over the silver Audi and throwing one of his swords into the double that had switched into the scene flawlessly. Landing and turning smoothly, Sideswipe grabbed his sword and pulled it through the stunt car, cleaving it in half.  
"That's a wrap for you Smokescreen."  
"Nope, I'll be back as a Constructicon."  
'Damn I'm good.' Sideswipe declared, putting in an extra spin to really show he could do this. "You really should push for an actual onscreen appearance Smokescreen, its fun."  
"No thanks. Gotta run, my next costume is a pain to get into."

#~#+~+#~#

Up in one of the borrowed cargo planes, Optimus was definitely not impressed about this stunt. On paper it was easy enough but now that he was up here and about to be sent into the fight, he really didn't want to go.  
"This is such a bad idea."  
"You'll be fine Optimus; you've done this stunt plenty of times in practise. This is just another practise jump, nothing to stress about."  
"I hope so Magnus; this could go wrong any number of ways."  
"Think positive. You're going to come out of that plane, transform and join the battle with all the style and awesomeness you can muster. Just watch for the impact, that's the bit that always shakes you up."  
"Got it Magnus."

Rumbling down the ramp, Optimus ran through his transformation, keeping one optic on the bitumen below to help judge his fall. Spiralling down gracefully, the parachutes opened on cue and caught his fall, allowing him to drift for a moment and deliver his opening line. Cutting the lines and flipping forwards, he hit the road and stumbled, loosing his balance and falling flat on his face.  
"Okay, maybe not with all the style and awesomeness you can muster."  
"Don't even start Magnus, don't even start." Optimus growled, heaving to his feet and reattempting the moving transformation from a jumping start. He nailed the rest of the sequence, rolling once on the roadway before his wheels hit the bitumen and he powered away into action.  
"Thank Primus for good editors."  
"Michael didn't call cut so I'm good."

#~#+~+#~#

His first battle over with, Bumblebee knew what was coming next but he still didn't have to like it. This bit with Shia scolding him was just bad, it felt wrong to both actors but it had to be done firmly.  
'Bumblebee! Get in the garage. Go!'  
'What the freak just happened?'  
'I'm about to have a nervous breakdown. Just go in the garage quietly, please.'

Behaving like a petulant teenager, Bumblebee squawked back at Shia and headed for the garage, in a sulk, stomping his feet and looking back at Shia in the hopes he'd change his mind.  
'whatever.' he trilled, the word only just understandable.  
'Get in the garage now!' Shia demanded, watching Bumblebee get down on his hands and knees to crawl inside. Batting aside a broken TV, Bumblebee crawled into the garage, knocking stuff over and just generally looking quite upset.  
"Hey, is it clear?"  
"Yeah Eject, it's clear. Just stay quiet."  
"Quiet I can do Bee." Eject promised, emerging from his hiding spot in the garage and swinging over to land in Bee's offered hand.  
"What are you doing in here Eject? If Michael catches you, he'll freak."  
"You worry too much Bee. I'll be out of sight before the cameras are back on you. I just wanted to be sure you were okay."  
"I know Shia isn't really angry with me, he's just following the script."  
"It still hurts when a friend talks mean, scripted or not."  
"I won't deny that Eject."

Listening to the lines outside, Bumblebee knew the focus would be back on him real soon but before he could tell Eject to hide, the young Autobot had scrambled over his shoulder and transformed, disappearing into all the other parts visible on Bee's back.  
"I'm not leaving you Bee."  
"Thanks Eject. Just stay still back there, we'll be out of the spotlight soon."  
"Got it covered. You know, Wheeljack and Perceptor are gonna be pissed when they see what you did to their creations."  
"Oh yeah, I know. They're gonna freak at the destruction but they were told that the kitchen bots were destroyed real early in the film. Besides, I didn't totally wipe them out, there are still bits out there." Bumblebee replied, still keeping up his lines with Shia even as he talked with Eject.

#~#+~+#~#

Settled in their alt-modes and knowing they were only in this scene for a brief moment, most of the Autobots were relaxed and comfortable as they waited, knowing that Optimus was the big star of this scene. Shifting a little and settling, they were silent and watchful, their presence hardly needed but it was a good chance to take a break.

Just as the camera panned over them, Ironhide blew the scene, a loud snore echoing from his vocaliser. Blinking in disbelief, the humans in the scene weren't sure what to make of the snoring TopKick or how to react.  
'Ironhide, stand to!' Optimus called, his rich voice distorted by the radio but it still had the desired effect. Launching through a transformation, Ironhide stood tall among his fellow Autobots, cannons scanning the area slowly.  
'What's the emergency Prime?' he asked, folding his weapons away and turning to his leader.  
'Seems no one else wanted to wake you from an unplanned recharge.'  
'Well, I guess a stand to order is a better way to be snapped from recharge. Sorry about that Prime, won't happen again.' Ironhide nodded, dropping back to his wheels and settling. 'I'm just slaggin' grateful Sideswipe is blocking Ratchet's reach.'  
'Do I even want to know?'  
'Last time he fell into recharge on set, I got at his manual transformation circuit. Now that was funny.' Ratchet chuckled, stretching out his suspension and resettling.  
'Ratchet, that's an abuse of your medical training.'  
'I know Prime but all other tried and tested methods weren't working so I had to get mean.'  
'Just don't make a habit of it Ratchet.'  
'I've got no plans to do so Prime, I've got other good ways to deal with those sort of problems. Ironhide's just a stubborn glitch when it comes to his recharge.'

Listening to the latest reports from the base, Optimus paid half attention to the cues above and waited for his next bit, Josh having his turn in the spotlight for the moment. Catching the line, he warned Prowl and transformed, narrowly avoiding the raised platform containing so many human actors and came to his feet, turning to look back down at John Hickey for a moment as Tyrese gave his line, voice full of wonder and awe.  
'General, our alliance has countermanded six Decepticon incursions this year, each on a different continent. They're clearly searching around the world for something, but last night's encounter came with a warning.'  
"The Fallen shall rise again."  
'"The Fallen." Meaning what?'  
'Origin unknown. The only recorded history of our race was contained within the AllSpark and lost with its destruction.'  
'Excuse me!'

Allowing John Hickey to have his chance to be the super asshole Galloway, Optimus waited for his next line and signalled for Prowl to continue with the latest reports. It was a minor distraction but with filming and his other duties to the movie, Optimus just didn't have enough time to get through all the reports piling up on his desk. None of the humans knew about the comm chatter going on in the background, they weren't linked into the system like they were linked into the public team comms.  
'Now, under the Classified Alien/Autobot Cooperation Act, you agreed to share your Intel with us, but not your advancements in weaponry.'  
'We've witnessed your human capacity for war. It would absolutely do more harm than good.'  
'But who are you to judge what's best for us?'  
'With all due respect, we've been fighting side by side in the field for two years.'  
'We've shed blood, sweat and precious metal together.'  
'Soldier, you're paid to shoot, not talk.'  
'Don't tempt me.'

Listening to the building rant, Optimus had the urge to say something cheeky and rather rude in reply, an urge that Ultra Magnus picked up on and egged him to do it. After all, he'd been pretty good for stuff ups this time around. Seriously considering the push, Optimus thought it over as Prowl got on with the next report, something about the Wreckers causing trouble on base.  
'Now, what do we know so far? We know that the enemy leader, classified NBE One, AKA Megatron, is rusting in peace at the bottom of the Laurentian Abyssal, surrounded by SOSUS detection nets and a full-time submarine surveillance. We also know that the only remaining piece of your alien AllSpark is locked in an electromagnetic vault here on one of the most secure naval bases in the world. And since no one can seem to tell me what the enemy is now after, well, there's only one clear conclusion!'  
'That you're a total asshole?' Optimus asked, responding to the urge so deep in his spark. 'No, that's not quite the right term. Asshole doesn't encompass my intense dislike of you Mr Galloway. Ah, I know. All hail the greatest fucktard on Earth - Theodore Galloway!'

For a moment there was silence, everyone staring at Optimus before a great roar of laughter filled the room, the actors all around clutching at whatever was closest to keep them on their feet. Even the other Autobots on scene were cracking up, most of them sitting where they had landed after transforming.  
'Cut! Optimus, what was that?'  
'Dammit Prime, where'd you dig that one up from?' Ironhide managed, howling with laughter at the improvised line.  
'It just came to me like a bolt from Primus. That Galloway character is most annoying.' Optimus shrugged, quite satisfied with the results of his improv attempt. 'I apologise for ruining the scene Michael, I could not resist the urge to really speak my mind.'  
'Well, I did say I wanted Galloway to be as arrogant and annoying as one man could possibly be. You nailed it John, it must be annoying if even Optimus can't keep him legendary calm.'  
'I must say, the insult was well delivered Optimus. Very well delivered.'  
'We'll keep that one for the blooper reel, it'll have to be cleaned up for foul language but otherwise it's a great gag.'  
'Thank you Michael.'  
'Alright, as soon as everyone has calmed down enough, we'll go from John's last line. And since…'  
'If you will excuse me a moment, I just need to step outside and make a quick call. There is a minor issue back at base that requires my full attention.' Optimus offered, heading for the big doors and the airfield behind.  
'Anything we need to know Prime?' Ratchet asked, trying to regain his calm.  
'It's nothing you need worry about Ratchet, just the Wreckers misbehaving.'

Returning to the set a few minutes later, Optimus took his position again and nodded, anger simmering away well below the surface so it couldn't affect his performance. For now the problems on base were under control, the three problematic Wreckers secure in the brig until Optimus got back to deal with them face-to-face.  
'And since no one can seem to tell me that the enemy is now after, well, there's only one clear conclusion. You! The Autobots! They're here to hunt you! What's there to hunt for on Earth beside that? "The Fallen shall rise again"? It sounds to me like something's coming. So, let me ask, if we ultimately conclude that our national security is best served by denying you further asylum on our planet, will you leave peacefully?'  
'Freedom is your right. If you make that request, we will honour it. But before your President decides, please ask him this. What if we leave and you're wrong?'

#~#+~+#~#

Vaulting from the water, Steeljaw bounded along the beach and approached the military base, enjoying his turn in front of the camera. He wasn't enjoying the tank full of microcon puppets so much but he'd do his part so the puppeteers could get busy with the next part of the scene. Snarling and growling, he broke into a run again, vaulting the double perimeter fence and charging the set. Sticking low to the ground, he raced across the grass, heading for the entry point already selected for the next phase. Getting to his target zone, he knocked the cover off the tagged pipe and climbed up, wrapping his front paws around the pipe and opening his mouth. Activating the removal process, he poured the microcons down the pipe and into the next set.

Shielded and waiting, Wheeljack, Perceptor and First Aid were in place for the next part of this scene. They had the fun of controlling all the microcons and building Reedman from them. It had taken weeks of practise to master the complex puppet but they got it and were very proud of their little creation. Wheeljack only had control of one microcon but that one was actually the key to building Reedman and holding him together. This single tiny puppet had a complex code inside, a code that would instantly replicate through all the microcons the moment they were in position to create Reedman. This rewrote the command frequency for the entire group and allowed Wheeljack to make the final move to create Reedman and then control him.

Spotting his primary in the group, Wheeljack sent it into a complex little pattern, jittering and tumbling in a tight confine until the rest had raced past. Then he sent it off again, moving with the mass to get into position. Getting the rest of the microcons together, First Aid and Perceptor started hundreds of tiny transformations and got busy, each finger controlling dozens of microcons and pulling them together into the two halves of Reedman. Getting his into position, Wheeljack waited a couple seconds longer for every microcon to be in position before activating the code.

Bringing his hands together and brushing the heels of his hands together, Wheeljack pulled all the microcons together and took command of Reedman, the flimsy looking Decepticon practically invisible to the human eye but such a triumph for the builders.  
"We nailed it. He's absolutely perfect." Perceptor grinned, command gloves deactivated.  
"Heh never doubted we'd get it right." First Aid agreed, waiting patiently for their next job.

Keeping his movements smooth, Wheeljack steered Reedman to the shard container, secretly proud of how well the shard was holding up after all that time spent in workshop storage after the first movie. Engaging the glass cutting tools and starting on the containment vessel, he was totally focused, knowing one slip and Reedman could potentially fall apart again. Retrieving the shard, Wheeljack eased Reedman back and waited for the humans to enter the room before getting busy, all his processing power dedicated to keeping Reedman together through the combat and run out to rendezvous with Steeljaw as Ravage.

Catching his next cue, Steeljaw opened fire on the base, moving to protect Reedman from the humans. He knew this was all fake but it was definitely fun to relive battles of the past and try new tactics. Wheeljack brought Reedman skidding past in a hail of gunfire and out of sight behind the camera. Spotting the storage box, Wheeljack hustled Reedman inside and waited until Eject had slammed the lid before disconnecting his gloves from the software. Inside the box, Reedman fell to pieces instantly, the shard safe among the microcons.

#~#+~+#~#

His presence hidden by clever camera angles and lighting tricks, Perceptor took command of the Wheelie puppet and approached Megan, bumping over the rough floor and easing closer, little electric motor whizzing quietly. The dog in the scene barked at Wheelie, guiding Perceptor to back him up and wait for the dog to be distracted. Transforming Wheelie behind a couple of motorbikes, Perceptor really had to focus on the little blue truck so he didn't damage it with an overly powerful command motion. Pushing off one of the bikes, he skated Wheelie across the floor, swinging around to shelter behind another bike.

Waiting, looking around and listening, Wheelie seemed so real and so cute in his tiny form, unlike the other puppets of this film. Cued in again, Perceptor sent Wheelie forward as Shia and Megan talked on the phone but he over did the forward command just a little, sending the tiny puppet careening into the workbench. Bringing one arm up, Perceptor got Wheelie to catch the corner of the table, keeping him upright and leaning out to watch Megan.

Looking from Megan to the safe and back again, Wheelie let out this little evil laugh and turned for the safe, jumping up to try and grab the lock but he was too small to get it. Rolling over to collect a couple of small boxes from the floor, he stepped forward slowly, trying to be so very quiet but that went out the window when he stepped on the mousetrap and got snapped in the tyre.  
'Oh! Damn it! Son of a bitch!'  
"Perceptor? Is that you swearing?" Wheeljack asked, stunned by the foul language.  
"Wheelie's lines. He has a foul mouth apparently."  
'What are you looking at, slobber puss?' Stepping again, Wheelie got his other foot stuck to a rodent glue trap. 'What the…This place is a freaking house of horrors!' he added, attempting to shake off the glue trap.

Walking for the safe with a clunk squish clunk squish, Wheelie complained about the pain but soldiered on until he got his burden set down at the bottom of the safe. Megan noticed him and came to investigate but Wheelie was too focused on the safe to notice her approach as he climbed onto the wooden boxes and reached for the lock.  
'Right to five, then…' switching to pointless mumbling, Perceptor waited and watched the scene, still fiddling with the lock.

Looking up and seeing Megan, Wheelie let out a girly scream and fell off the boxes, stumbling backwards to escape the woman towering over him. Stumbling and scrambling away, he managed to get rid of both mousetraps on his feet and kept on screaming until Megan got him around the neck with a set of long pliers.  
'Is that the best you got, huh? Is that the best you can do?'

Shoving Wheelie up against one of the tools on the bench behind him, Megan held him pinned with the pliers and grabbed a blow torch, lighting the flame and pointing it his way.  
'What are you doing here, you little freak?' she demanded, flame coming in and burning out his left optic.  
'Oww! That's my eye, you crazy bitch!' Wheelie howled, such harsh words from Perceptor's usually gentle vocaliser.  
'You gonna talk now?'  
'Ow! Ow! Ow! I seek knowledge from the Cube. The Fallen demands me!'  
'What knowledge?'  
'You got the shard, I need the shard. Give me the shard. I need the shard. Give me the shard. They're gonna whack me! I'm gonna be dead without that shard!' Wheelie rambled, Megan shoving him back aggressively again. 'Easy warrior-goddess, I'm just a little salvage-scrap drone!'  
'And I'm your worst nightmare.'  
'Ow! Ow! Ow! Hey, hey, hey!' Wheelie yelped, thrown into a metal box and closed in tightly.  
"Wow, you really did get a little foul mouth there, didn't you Perceptor?"  
"He's not such a bad character Wheeljack, just misunderstood I believe."  
"Well, he is cute."  
"He certainly is."  
"The optic burning was a bit harsh, we spent days building Wheelie and making him look that good."  
"I knew it was coming but I do agree. You never know, it might be repaired later in the film."

#~#+~+#~#

Reviving their evil roles, Silverbolt had traded in his Blackout alt-mode for Grindor, a Super Stallion and dropped Shia, Megan and Ramon into the building where Skydive and Ultra Magnus were waiting for them. Slicing the car up the middle, Skydive got right down over them and spat lightly towards Shia, the lubricant barely reaching him. Then Ultra Magnus made his appearance, rising up behind Megan and calling to Shia.

Doing his best not to hurt the boy, Ultra Magnus swatted him to the concrete slab, the body protection Shia was wearing enough to keep him safe when combined with the gentle impact that looked so painful. Stalking closer, Ultra Magnus grabbed Shia's arms and pinned him down, taunting the boy with plans for his death and more delicate work to be done. Shia played along nicely, crying out in pain when he knew he was safe and trying to escape.

Out of sight but well within range, First Aid made his move on command, transforming Scalpel and skittering onto Shia's groin and up his chest.  
'I'll scan you. Let's take a look at your face.'  
"Now there's a voice not even a creator could love."  
"Shut it Groove, not my choice."  
'I'm the doctor. The odd job. Information!'  
"Easy Aid, don't hurt him."  
"With this little guy, never happen Ultra Magnus. It's all minor flesh wounds, it'll heal in a couple weeks."

Making his puppet as creepy as possible, sticking probes up Shia's nose and chittering away in his freaky little voice before signalling for his assistants. Standing beside First Aid, Hound created the required holoforms and set them into the scene, two jet propelled assistants delivering a wormbot to Shia's chest.  
"Talk about disgusting characters."  
"This only gets worse Hound."  
'Beseeching my shard! Easy or tough way?' Scalpel declared, grabbing Shia's mouth and holding it open as the worm bot sat up and wriggled several tentacles in the air.  
"I'm going to need a mind bath after this. So gross."  
"Just do it Hound."

Shuddering silently, Hound directed the worm holoform into Shia's open mouth, the image disappearing as soon as it entered. Then he made the various tentacles poke out Shia's nose, wriggling around then disappearing again. Remembering the brief on this scene, Shia pretended to choke as the creature reappeared at his mouth then launched across to Scalpel's chest. Chattering away in Cybertronian, Scalpel played the retrieved data for Ultra Magnus to see.

Tossing aside the wormbot, Scalpel skittered slowly up Shia's chest again, such an evil little character and a total opposite to Wheelie's more adorable nature.  
'We must have the brain on the table! Chop, chop!'  
'Brain? What does he mean by my brain?'  
'Well, you have something on your mind, something I need.'  
'Hold on. I know you're pissed. I know you're pissed because I tried to kill you and it's completely understandable. If somebody tried to kill me, I'd be upset too.'

As Shia talked, First Aid got Scalpel up over his face and went back to probing around, reaching up his nose as far as was safe and peering into his mouth as Shia tried to keep delivering his lines. Swinging around to sit on Shia's throat, Scalpel tried to pry his jaw open again but quickly gave up and got his little circular saw spinning.

#~#+~+#~#

Up on the rooftop, Optimus hung below Skyfire, the bigger jet offering him a lift before he had to go get ready. On cue, Optimus dropped towards the ceiling and smashed through then stopped rather suddenly. Hands dropping instantly, Optimus let out an agonised groan and toppled sideways, crashing through the ceiling and slipping off a beam that had somehow been missed during preparations. Grabbing their co-stars, Skydive and Ultra Magnus ran for cover, the humans protected against their chests until Optimus hit the ground and curled up as much as he could, both massive hands clutching between his legs.  
'Cut! What the hell just happened?'  
'Looks like someone forgot to double check that the drop zone was properly cleared.' Ultra Magnus replied, looking up at the ceiling as First Aid broke cover and ran for Optimus.  
'You okay Prime?' he asked, kneeling beside the fallen leader.  
'No…right in the codplate.' Optimus groaned, shifting slowly on the floor.  
'Ohh, ouch. Just relax, try and take nice steady intakes. I'm here, I'll take care of this.' First Aid soothed, setting up his emergency kit and looking around. 'A little privacy guys! This is awkward enough without you all gawking.'  
'Alright, everyone outside. Nothing to see here, just a little accident. Michael, you might want to get someone up there to see if a reset is possible.' Ultra Magnus called, starting to get everyone moving towards the exits.  
"Boss, I need a little guidance over here."  
"What's the situation First Aid?"  
"Prime just took a ceiling beam to the codplate during the warehouse rescue scene."  
"Pain relief, cooling compression and time, that's about all you can do Aid."  
"Thanks, I've never had to deal with this sort of thing before."  
"Keep him calm and make sure he's taking deep, relaxing intakes. It helps with the pain until the blockers kick in properly."  
'That's it Prime, deep intakes, nice and calm. I've got you, this is no big problem. I'll have you up and about in no time.'

Once more amazed by how well First Aid could handle any mess thrown his way, Optimus dimmed him optics and tried to relax, allowing the junior medic to do what had to be done to ease the pain. So grateful for the privacy Ultra Magnus had created for them, First Aid deftly unsnapped the dented codplate and forced it back into shape before applying a soothing gel to the inside and locking it back into place. Instantly the cooling gel had an effect, helping Optimus relax and prompting the leading to uncurl a little more, humiliated by his accident but recovering.  
'Thank you First Aid.' he uttered, raising up on one elbow.  
'Just doing my job Prime.'  
'For getting everyone out of here. This was embarrassing enough without anyone seeing what had to be done.'  
'Most Autobots already know about codplate hits, the Arcee sisters are the only ones without that concern. As for the humans, who really wants to deal with the questions that would come?'  
'Good point. Help me up, please. We should clear out so the crew can prepare for a reset.' Optimus nodded, rolling onto his back and offering out his hand.  
'I gotcha Prime, up you get.' First Aid grinned, heavier than he looked and more than capable of hauling Prime to his feet. 'Come on, you can rest outside until the blockers kick in properly.'

To his credit, Optimus was barely limping with he emerged from the building and made his way over to where the rest of the team were sitting, easing down carefully and making sure he didn't compact the tender area.  
'You okay Optimus?'  
'I will recover Magnus, I just need some time. That was brutal.'  
'Now that you're clear, I'll send the crew up to reset the roof and cut that beam. We've also moved your jump point a little further west so you hit the upper level to engage Starscream.'  
'Thanks Michael.'

Walking over to First Aid as the medic eased to the ground in the shade, Shia climbed up onto his knee and glared at the medic until he flipped his visor and mask out of the way. Without them, First Aid looked so much like Ratchet but that wasn't what had Shia so annoyed.  
'I know Scalpel was supposed to be a nasty little 'Con but gees First Aid, you went a little too far on that one.'  
'Sorry Shia, I was just doing what I was told. Michael said he wanted Scalpel to be as disturbing as possible. That said, I didn't go as far as I could have. I kept Scalpel well within what is considered safe for humans to endure.'  
'I find that hard to believe considering you kept stuffing his hands up my nose.'  
'Just be grateful that the worm was a holoform and not another puppet like Michael first suggested.'  
'Now that's disgusting First Aid.'  
'You can see why we went with the holoform idea though, less stress on you. I really hate that voice though, burns in the vocaliser.'  
'You voiced Scalpel too? I thought that was programmed into him.'  
'Nope, Scalpel's too small to actually have a vocaliser.' First Aid replied, adjusting something in his neck. 'Beseeching my shard.'  
'Yikes! Don't do that Aid, I'm already traumatised from that little thing.'  
'Sorry Shia. I feel sorry for Perceptor, he's stuck voicing Wheelie and that is one foul mouthed little puppet.'

#~#+~+#~#

Knowing what was coming next and dreading the thought, Optimus took off after Ultra Magnus, Shia belted in securely and trying to catch his breath.  
'You seem tense Optimus, what's up?'  
'The next battle scene is bothering me, that's all Shia.'  
'The next battle? What's so…oh, I remember now. It's your final moment for a while.'  
'Exactly. I still do not feel entirely confident in Ultra Magnus' when it comes to that final blow.'  
'Aren't you using a body double?'  
'Yes but still, we are very close. I an uncertain if he can make it look realistic.'  
'I'm sure he'll make it look good. I hope you're up to your best though, this fight is three on one.'  
'I have not forgotten that fact Shia. We will all be quite sore after this fight. Silverbolt is bitter that he dies again but such is the movie industry.'

Reaching the fight scene and dodging Ultra Magnus' first shot, Optimus flew through his transformation and braced for impact, Shia clutched safely in one hand. Barrelling through his own transformation, Ultra Magnus tackled Optimus and drove him to the ground, the pair tumbling and rolling into the forest. Right on target, Optimus released Shia and turned his full attention to the fight, trusting in Shia to stay out of trouble and alive.

Treating this fight as just another sparring match, Optimus and Ultra Magnus went at it full pelt, throwing punches and tackling heavily, throwing up great clouds of dirt. Uprooting a dead tree, Optimus smashed it over Ultra Magnus' back, taunting him and ducking a return shot. For the moment Optimus had the upper hand, giving Ultra Magnus a solid beating with plenty of insults thrown in for good measure. Ultra Magnus wasn't going to let him keep it though, screaming for his reinforcements.

Coming in for a landing and transforming before he hit the ground, Silverbolt was first on scene, rotors folded back as he charged into battle. Opening fire from the other side of the battle, Skydive crashed through the trees and transformed in flight, going after Shia. Now things were getting busy, Optimus hard pressed to stay on top of the Deceptions and keep Shia safe. It was a good thing the costumes were built so strong, Optimus was really getting rough.  
"Ow! Steady on Optimus. My head is in there you know."  
"Sorry Magnus, just making it look real."  
"It's all about the realism."

Dealing with Skydive temporarily, Optimus drew attention away from the downed aerialbot so First Aid could get in and make sure he was okay while the fight moved on. Making sure Skydive was able to continue the fight, First Aid quickly scrambled back out of the way, Skydive getting up and heading for the fight again.

Now the tables had turned and Optimus was taking another thorough beating. He'd been training to take such a beating and still keep going but fighting in this particular location was jamming up some of his joints.  
"Brace for it Optimus, it's time for that really nasty blow."  
"I'm ready for it Magnus, aim true." Optimus replied, braced for the devastating impact coming his way. Bringing his foot up and around, Ultra Magnus kicked his hand in the side of the head, sending Optimus flying well back. Staggering back to his feet, Optimus stood ready to fight on but he as pushed back, first by Skydive's cannon and then Ultra Magnus' flying elbow. Stumbling around in a circle, Optimus put his under armour shield towards Ultra Magnus for the next shot.

Fusion cannon bang on target, Ultra Magnus sent Optimus tumbling through the air and crashing down a good distance away in a mighty shower of dirt and debris. Coming up onto one elbow, Optimus spat out part of his vocaliser, knowing he'd hear from Ratchet about that later but for now there was a battle to be fought.  
"Damn it Magnus! Now I've got to sit through one of Ratchet's lectures."  
"What'd I do?"  
"Busted vocaliser strands. He knew to expect a destroyed optic but a vocaliser too."  
"Oops, sorry. Just another part to repair after this one."  
"This is going to be a long repair."

Coming closer to where Optimus was sprawled, Ultra Magnus briefly considered calling for a break but he knew Optimus wanted to get this scene over with so he could get back to base and deal with a few issues.  
'Is the future of our race not worth a single human life?'  
'Up! Get up!'  
'You'll never stop at one! I'll take you all on!'

Stuck in the middle of the fight scene, Shia wasn't sure his being there was such a great idea but Michael had asked for it and Optimus had sworn he'd be safe. Surging again, Optimus spun through the fight, slinging Skyfire away from Shia and going after the puppet now standing in for Silverbolt. Peering out between the tree roots, Shia was once again struck by how graceful the Autobots could be in a fight but also how aggressive they could get as Optimus really let Ultra Magnus have it and sent him flying. Turning again, Optimus went back to Skydive, the Grindor puppet lurking around behind the smaller flyer.  
"Sorry about this Skydive."  
"It's alright Prime, I know it has to happen."  
"Okay, here we go."

Striking as cleanly as he could, Optimus took Skydive's arm off just above the elbow and proceeded to beat the smaller jet around with it before knocking him back far enough to be considered a non-threat.  
"Oww, that's gonna leave a mark."  
"Stay out of shot Skydive, I'm on my way."  
"Just remember, it's gotta stay unattached for a bit longer."  
"I haven't forgotten Skydive."

Jumping onto the Grindor puppet, Optimus got one of his hooks into the optic and swung up onto its shoulders. Bringing out his other hook, he got it into Grindor's face as well and heaved, tearing it to pieces and claiming another victory. Launching off Grindor's shoulders, Optimus got one hook in its back and tossed it to the ground with an insult thrown in for good measure.  
'Cut!'

Making his way around behind the cameras, Optimus sunk down to rest as Wheeljack stepped forward, command gloves secure. Turning to look, Optimus admired the beautifully crafted body double laying on the grass, every injury perfectly replicated from real to false. Wheeljack and Perceptor had spent so long working on this body double, it would be such a shame when it was destroyed in a few minutes.  
'You still planning to vocalise your body double?'  
'Of course Wheeljack. I just need a minute.'  
'Make a hole.' First Aid called, forcing Skydive and Silverbolt to move fast or get run over. 'Here we go Prime, this will help you feel a bit better. You're still going to be feeling this one for a while.'  
'I'll take what I can get First Aid, it's been a hell of a day.' Optimus sighed, offering out his arm.  
'It certainly has Prime.' First Aid agreed, finding a suitable line among the damaged plating and getting the blockers into his system.  
'Ready when you are Prime.' Wheeljack added, getting the double to his feet.  
'Let's get it done Wheeljack.' Optimus nodded, stretching out on the grass to get comfortable but making sure he could see the final stand through his one working optic.  
"Uhhh…is that the real or the fake?" Ultra Magnus asked, staring at the returning Prime.  
"That's the fake, I'm over here Magnus." Optimus replied, waving to get his attention.  
"Damn, it looks so real. Nice job Wheeljack and Perceptor."  
'And action!'

Heading for the burning tree that was the marker, Wheeljack made the puppet look like it had gone through the entire fight, bringing it down to one knee as it looked for Shia. Coming up behind the puppet, Ultra Magnus grabbed the puppet and hoisted it up, slamming his sword through from behind to protrude well out the chest.  
"Ouch, now that's just plain mean Magnus."  
"Payback for the beat down you gave."  
'No!'  
'You're so weak!'

Triggering the pyrotechnics, Wheeljack stole the scene completely, blowing out the chest of the puppet with a very nice explosion and one hell of a fireball. Bits of debris rained down on the scene, tinkling and clattering to the ground as the Prime puppet made the greatest sacrifice. Withdrawing his sword, Ultra Magnus waited for the puppet to fall but it managed to remain standing for a few moments then toppled to the side, bouncing almost organically once it hit the ground and put up another dust cloud.  
"Wow, so that's what you really think of me Wheeljack?"  
"No way Prime, that's what it really looks like when you shove a blade through a spark."  
"Talk about an undignified death."  
"Could have been worse, at least this puppet still had a head."  
"Fair point Wheeljack."  
"It's not quite over yet, this one still have a few death twitches in it."  
"And one last line."

Twitching and shuddering, the puppet flopped onto it's back, head tilted to gaze at Shia in these last few moments of the scene. A slow blink, then another and it was time.  
'Sam, run. Run.' the last words was never finished as the puppet finally perished, optics going dark and the body relaxing at Ultra Magnus' feet. Looking at the body for a moment longer, Shia turned and ran for the other Autobots as they made their appearance into the scene.

#~#+~+#~#

Returning to base, Ratchet, Ironhide, Jolt and Sideswipe all watched the incoming body of Optimus as the helicopter approached the waiting humans and dropped the battle scarred body double to the hard tarmac, sending up a shower of sparks. The false Prime was well constructed though, taking the abuse without a problem.  
"I still remember the last time we lost Prime. This is hard to see."  
"I know Ironhide, I know. I remember that day too. The Autobots have rarely had times that dark." Ratchet replied, scanners running over the double just to be certain.  
"At least we can take comfort in knowing it's not real this time."  
"There is that Sideswipe." Jolt agreed, memories surfacing of troubling times well in the past.  
"Prime, are you there?"  
"I am here Ironhide. What's the matter?"  
"We're facing the body double and it's hard. We still remember the dark times."  
"We all remember the dark times. Face the scene with courage, I am here and will stay with you always."  
"Don't go quiet Prime, this scene is such a challenge."  
"I do not know what to say Sideswipe, what brings you most comfort?"  
"It doesn't matter Prime, just talk."  
"Well, I do have a lot of reports to get through."  
"Your voice is reassuring Prime, that's what we need to face this with courage."  
"Very well."

Listening to that deep baritone as they surrounded the body double, the four Autobots transformed and gathered closer to the body, drawing strength from the constant reminder that this was all fake. Although Optimus was just reading through standard daily reports, they still found comfort in knowing he was there, the dull words didn't matter at all. Then the humvee's came out, circling around the group and their discomfort was pushed aside, weapons coming out and everyone preparing for another brawl.

Shifting to face the enemy, Sideswipe hit a slick patch on the tarmac and lost traction to one of his wheels. Quickly yanking his swords in so he didn't hurt anyone, he tried to regain his balance but he went over backwards, narrowly missing Jolt to hit the ground hard, helm striking the body double in the shoulder.  
'Cut! Sideswipe, I thought you had your wheels under control.'  
'There's something slick on the tarmac, not my fault.'  
'Yep, grease patch on the tarmac.' Ratchet added, pointing out the slippery mess on the ground.  
'How about a helping hand here guys?' Sideswipe asked, offering out his hand.  
'I've got you, you little pit-spawn.' Ratchet grinned, blocking one wheel with his foot and hauling Sideswipe onto his feet again.  
'I didn't know you still cared Ratchet.'  
'Don't start that again you little hellion. I've got enough to do without you adding to my workload.'  
'I know Ratchet, we won't cause any trouble.'  
'Thanks Sideswipe.' Ratchet nodded, cleaning up the grease on the tarmac. 'Alright, we're ready to go again.'

#~#+~+#~#

Getting through the tarmac scene without another accident, the group turned and headed for the hanger, picking up the body double and taking it with them.  
'Come on guys, lunch time!' Wheeljack called, emerging from another hanger.  
'Did he just say lunch?'  
'Yeah Ironhide, he just said lunch.'

Dropping the double, the quartet raced towards Wheeljack, Sideswipe easily outpacing them and disappearing inside first. Shaking his head with a grin, Wheeljack pulled on his command gloves and left the hanger, reconnecting with the puppet as soon as he was in range. Getting it up, he walked it into the storage hanger and set it down again where it was safe. Breaking the connection, he turned and headed after his friends, the humans jogging along to see what was going on.

Entering the hanger, they were confronted with a very unusual sight. The four stars were seated around a massive table, drinking from bright purple cubes. The tabletop was scattered with jars and bottles of various sizes, the contents a mystery in some cases but others were more obvious. Joining the group at the table, Wheeljack grabbed a cube and added a selection of things from the various jars across the table. Swigging from his cube, Ratchet pulled a face and set it down, scanning the tabletop quickly.  
'Hey Sideswipe, pass the mercury back this way.'  
'Coming your way Ratchet.' Sideswipe nodded, sliding one of the jars across the table.  
'Thanks. Talk about a rough batch.' Ratchet sighed, pouring some of the silvery liquid into his cube and swirling it around.  
'With so many Autobots busy with the movie, we're doing the best we can Ratchet. This lot was made under Red Alert's watch.'  
'That explains it, he never could make a good batch.'  
'He'll still never be as bad a Kup when it comes to brewing energon. Now there's a bot with bad taste.' Ironhide added, picking up a different jar and sprinkling something into his cube.  
'His receptors are fried after way too long in the front lines. He has no idea how bad his brewing skills are.' Ratchet shrugged, still not happy with his lunch. 'Wheeljack, pass up the copper would you?'  
'By all means.'  
'Slide the silicon down this way, would ya Ratchet?'  
'Coming down Ironhide.'  
'Can I have the zinc back over here Sideswipe?'  
'Sure and can you pass over the cobalt?'

Finally happy with the individual mixes, the group relaxed back in their chairs and relaxed, talking quietly about how things were going back on base and with the other shooting locations around. It was nice to just sit and catch up with the news from around the area, they didn't get to catch up with the rest of the team as much anymore. Jumping a little when he started beeping, Wheeljack switched his cube to his other hand and tapped something on his arm, bringing out a small projector and settling back again as a small Optimus appeared on the table, looking around at the group.  
'How you holding up Optimus?' Ratchet asked, leaning forward in his chair a little more.  
"First Aid has me on full bed rest while he attends to the worst damage."  
'Must have been a hell of a fight if that double is anything to go by.'  
"You have no idea Ironhide. Taking on Ultra Magnus, Skydive and Silverbolt is no easy task. That said, I gave as good as I got."  
'So we heard from Wheeljack. First Aid's going to be busy for a while by the sounds of things.'  
"I can't come back looking too clean Sideswipe, First Aid is only repairing the absolute worst of the damage."  
'How are things back at base?'  
"The Wreckers are still in the brig, they're not happy with being left out of the movie. Apart from that, everything is running smoothly back here."

#~#+~+#~#

Bringing Wheelie back to life in the box, Perceptor waited patiently for Megan to unlock the lid and release the little one from his prison and start another round of foul mouthed behaviour.  
'Let me out!'  
'This is going to be a little bit sad.'  
'Open it.'

Launching from the box, Wheelie went ballistic, trying to attack anyone in reach but the solid chain Megan had secured to him allowed her to hold him back from a distance and keep him under control.  
'I will have so many Decepticons on your butt!'  
'Hey, behave!' Megan warned, a mini blowtorch in her hand and aimed at his head.  
'What is it, a Decepticon?'  
'Yeah.'  
'And you're training him?'  
'I'm trying to.'

Tugging on the chain leash a little, Wheelie coiled it up a little and tested it, not liking the fact he was restrained.  
'Let me off of this leash.'  
'I spent my whole adult life combing planet for aliens, and you're carrying one around in your purse like a little Chihuahua.'  
'Do you want a throw down, you pubic 'fro-head?'  
'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about your eye, you know, but, if you're a good boy, then I'm not going to torch your other eye. Okay? I'm not gonna torch it. Just tell me what these symbols are, please.'

Getting down on bended knee to examine the documents spread all around him, Wheelie was totally focused on doing as asked, unable to resist Megan's sweet nature and promise not to hurt him. Above them, Perceptor was just as affected by her gentle nature, wondering if he could get away with letting Megan have one of their spare Wheelie models when the movie was finished.  
'All right. Ohh, I know that. That's the language of the Primes. I don't read it, but these guys…Where the frick did you find photos of these guys?'  
'Is this they?'  
'Yeah. Seekers, pal. Oldest of the old. They've been here thousands of years, looking for something. I don't know what. Nobody tells me nothing, but they'll translate those symbols for you. And I know where to find them.'  
'Show us.'  
'Yeah.'

#~#+~+#~#

Popping out of the box again, Wheelie gasped through his intakes and looked around as Megan warned him to behave and was promptly warned that her little charge was claustrophobic. Climbing out of the box, he took a moment to get used to the slippery floor before transforming and heading off, hunting for the signal he needed to find. Then he locked onto the right plane and raced away, forcing Shia and Megan to run to catch up with him. He might have only been a small character but he had speed and courage well beyond his stature.

He led them to an old Blackbird in the middle of the museum, just waiting for them. Transforming and letting off a flaming backfire, Wheelie looked up at the massive jet, excited to be in front of a seeker. Telling the humans how important this seeker was, he guided Shia to aim the shard at the jet and to watch the magic happen.

Snatching the shard, Skyfire cued his transformation, absolutely detesting his character Jetfire but he was still going to play the doddering old fool. Thanks to some modifications by Ratchet, his transformation was clunky and sticky, parts falling off and things not quite happening the way they were supposed to. Grunting and groaning, the jet struggled to his feet, pounding any problematic parts into their new position with quite a bit of force. Questioning his location and looking around in disgust, he batted aside a hanging biplane and demanded that the humans show themselves.

Emerging from their hiding place, the humans approached the ancient jet leaning on his cane and were promptly insulted as a space capsule broke from the ceiling and rolled towards them, narrowly missing Shia. Lost in his own fantasy, Skyfire ignored the humans and headed for the doors at the end of the display hanger, first commanding the doors to open and when that didn't wok, battling with his cannon to get it to fire. The missile he eventually launched went in the completely wrong direction so he just broke the doors down and made his way outside.

Complaining about the itchy rust in his arse as he walked among the forgotten planes in neat rows, Skyfire started to enjoy his role, finding a certain joy in bringing an old seeker legend back to life. Destroying planes and talking about his mission, Skyfire had the feeling he'd come off as more than a little insane but that was okay, the original Jetfire was more than a little nuts too. Refocusing on the humans, he went right back to the insults, picking on Earth and asking about the civil war.

Waiting off camera, Perceptor listened for his cue, ready to make Wheelie grovel at Megan's feet and chance sides.  
'Who wants to live a life filed with hate?'  
'You mean you don't have to work for those miserable freaking Decepticons?'  
'If Decepticons had their way, they'd destroy the whole universe.'

Rolling over to Megan, Wheelie got down on his hands and knees, crawling up to her foot and daring to touch one boot.  
'I'm changing sides. I'm changing sides too, warrior-goddess. Who's your little Autobot.'  
'Aw, you're cute.'

Suddenly Perceptor twitched off camera, making Wheelie do something rather disgusting to Megan's leg.  
'Perceptor! What the hell?'  
'Cut! Perceptor, what are you doing?'  
'I'm so sorry, I had a minor circuit surge. I didn't mean to do that Megan.'  
'Wait, we can work with this. Perceptor, can you make him do that on cue? I know it's disturbing Megan but it fits with the character of Wheelie.'  
'I will need a few minutes to work out exactly how I made him do it the first time.' Perceptor nodded, bringing Wheelie over to his feet and starting to figure out the right commands to get Wheelie to be so crude again.

Using Michael as a handy test leg, Perceptor finally nailed the bad behaviour and brought Wheelie back to his feet where the little puppet was safest.  
'Are you sure about this Megan?'  
'Not really Perceptor but if it's what has to be done, let's just get it over with.'  
'Alright. If you want to stop, just let me know.'  
'I will Perceptor.'

Bringing Wheelie back in near Megan's leg, they went from Skyfire's last line about Decepticons destroying the universe. Repeating his promise to change sides, Perceptor got Wheelie on his feet and wrapped around Megan's leg, humping away like a frustrated dog against the soft boot.  
'Name's Wheelie. Yeah. Say my name, say my name.' he grunted, really getting into the scene.  
'What are you allowing to happen to your foot just now?'  
'At least he's faithful, Sam.'  
'Yeah, well, he's faithful and he's nude and he's perverted.' Shia replied, Wheelie still busy on Megan's leg. 'Can you just…Can you stop?' Shia continued, knocking Wheelie away with one foot.  
'Hey, what are you doing?'  
'It's just something to think about. I won't argue with… What were you saying?'  
'I told you my name way Jetfire, so stop judging me.'

#~#+~+#~#

Getting into it again, Skids and Mudflap got stuck right in, caught up in their scripted fight. They couldn't believe that this was actually part of the plot, but hey, if Michael wanted a fight to break through a wall, that's exactly what he'd get. Busting the wall was the easy bit, bringing Bumblebee into the fight. Grabbing the pair by their scruff bars, the bigger bot smacked them together and tossed them out the door to land in the sand, Skids bouncing off his brother before getting a face full of sand.  
'Now, that's rude.'  
'Cut! Nice work you two.'

Sitting up slowly, the twins looked back to Bumblebee, still standing in the doorway in case Michael wanted him to throw the smaller pair again.  
'You know, that's what I really hate about this role.'  
'What, the fact we're so small we get thrown around by Bumblebee?'  
'No Mudflap, the fact we're portrayed as such fraggin' idiots. We're smarter than this, it's really insultin', ya know. Just because we're young doesn't make us stupid.'  
'Yeah, I know. But hey, it's fun too. We can do stupid stuff and get away with it. Anyone else tries that and it's a reset.'  
'Well yeah, there is that too. I just hate looking like such a damn idiot all movie.'  
'At least you two get lines.' Bumblebee shrugged, jumping down and walking over to help them up. 'You two alright?'  
'Few minor dings, nothing to worry about Bee.' Mudflap nodded, checking his finish quickly.  
'And besides, you're actually kinda lucky. Sideswipe practically begged for Sunstreaker to be in the movie but Michael decided that one set of twins was enough to throw at the audience. Sunstreaker couldn't even get a costume part in this movie.'  
'With his pretty 'Bot behaviour, I'm not surprised about that Bumblebee. He wouldn't accept just any costume.'  
'So true Skids, so true. Don't worry about the perceptions of your characters, I'm sure Bluestreak's so proud of you.' Bumblebee nodded, looking down at the pair with gentle optics. 'He always said you two were worth saving. You're just proving him right all over again, adapting to a new challenge and rising up to face it.'  
'Hey, isn't Bluestreak part of the pit mine scene?'  
'Yeah, that's right Skids. He's one of the nine in Devastator.'  
'Then you'll get a chance to really show him how well you're handling this challenge.' Bumblebee chuckled, hands on their shoulders.  
'Thanks Bee.' they replied, pulling him into a group hug.  
'Whenever you need a pick-me-up, I'll be around for you.' Bumblebee promised, holding the pair tight. 'There's nothing wrong with being the youngest Autobots around, means you get all the more attention. We're all one big, happy family.'  
'But of all the older Autobots, you're the closest thing to a big brother we could ask for.' Mudflap nodded, looking up at the bright yellow scout, not really much older than they were.  
'Aww, thanks guys. Come on, there's still a lot more work to be done before we can go home.' Bumblebee replied, getting down on one knee and holding the pair tight again. 'You're the best little brothers a bot could ask for too.'

Watching from a distance, the humans started to get a deeper understanding of the Autobots and what they viewed as family. Origins and parentage weren't important, what really mattered was the deep connection they all shared, the endless support offered among the ranks and the gentle command from the senior officers, the parents of the family. Shia had thought Bumblebee was the youngest of the Autobots apart from Blaster's sons but here, Bumblebee was the older brother, reassuring and protecting the twins.  
'You'd better get back on set Bee, we'll wait over in the shade for you.'  
'Yeah, I guess I should. Don't go wandering off, we'll be done here soon.'  
'We won't Bee, promise.'

#~#+~+#~#

Making their spectacular arrival into Egypt, Murphy's Law struck the Autobot team again. Just about all of their parachutes failed, the only one to get a smooth landing was Optimus. Instead of dropping the puppet and having to figure out a switch, Optimus was going in and hoped he could fake it long enough to get through to his revival. But after registering the less graceful falls of his friends, Optimus knew he was going to have a challenge on his hands. He wanted to get up and help his friends but he'd leave massive footprints right through the scene that would have to be cleaned up. So when he landed he chose to stay put, trusting in the supporting Autobots to help with the rescues.

Crawling out of one sand dune, Ratchet quickly cleared his intakes and vents before standing and clearing the sand out from under his armour with a burst of compressed air. It was beautiful to watch, a great halo of sand flying out around him before he shook and headed to start digging his friends out. He headed straight for Ironhide, knowing the bigger bot would need a hand getting out of the sand in his current position.

Pushing through the sand, Wheeljack found Sideswipe well buried in the sand, rear tyres spinning uselessly in the air. Working out where the rest of Sideswipe was under the sand, Wheeljack got busy digging the silver warrior out. Running over to assist, Perceptor took over the digging as Wheeljack came around and grabbed Sideswipe's legs and heaved back, slowly dragging the battered silver Autobot out of his sandy tomb.

Having finally got Ironhide out of the sand and back upright, Ratchet took a few minutes to make sure he was clear of sand before transforming and racing for Jolt, Ironhide heading in the other direction to help the Arcee sisters. Arcee and Elita One had both managed to work their way out of the sand but Chromia was suspiciously absent and that was never a good thing. Picking up the pace, Ironhide hurried towards them and transformed on the fly, landing between the two femmes.  
'Where's your sister?'  
'She was right behind us. We managed to get out of that dune there but she hasn't come out.' Arcee replied, pointing to the dune behind them.  
'We tried to find her but the sand kept collapsing on us.' Elita One added, worried for their sister.  
'I'll find her. Just keep watch for Ratchet, he's gonna be pissed I went back into the sand.' Ironhide nodded, approaching the dune and dropping to his knees. Moving back a little, the remaining sisters started looked for Ratchet, planning on giving Ironhide plenty of warning if the medic so much as looked their way.

Tunnelling into the sand, Ironhide had much the same problem with the constant cave ins but his bigger frame enabled him to push through the weight of sand and deeper into the dune. He found Chromia deep in the sand, bravely struggling against the weight overhead but she was only getting stuck firmer instead of making any headway.  
"Ironhide, is that you?"  
"Yeah, I'm here Chromia. Give me your hand, I'll get you out."  
"I would but it's stuck. I'm really stuck tight here."  
"Hang in there, I've got you." Ironhide promised, inching forward again and forcing the sand out of the way.  
"Thanks for coming in after me Ironhide."  
"That's what family's all about. No one gets left behind."

Finally getting her hands free, Chromia grabbed Ironhide's wrist and cling tight as he pulled her close and started digging again, battling to clear enough space to turn around. When that didn't work, he came up with another plan and tucked Chromia safely under his back as he turned and forced one arm up through the sand, groaning as he swung his cannon out into the shifting sand.  
"That's crazy Ironhide, you could kill us both."  
"It'll be okay Chromia, I ain't ready to die just yet." Ironhide soothed, firing three quick blasts straight up. His cannon fire did the trick, blasting out a big gout of sand and lightening the load. Keeping the smaller femme close, Ironhide got back to digging, hauling them both slowly towards the surface.

Breaking through the sand at last, Ironhide hoisted Chromia out first and gratefully accepted the six hands there to help him out of the deep pit their little side adventure had left behind. Clearing his air system and shaking off the sand that would come off, Ironhide smiled proudly as the sisters checked each other over for serious damage before turning to him.  
'You're the best Ironhide, thank you.' Arcee offered, wrapping her arms around one strong arm.  
'Hey now, you know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you three.' Ironhide replied, bundling all three femmes into his arms and holding them close. 'We gotta stick together, all of us.'  
'Here, sit down and we'll clean you up. It's the least we can do.' Elita One added, pointing to a discarded parachute on the ground.  
'I'd really appreciate that, better your hands than Ratchet again.' Ironhide chuckled, allowing the ladies to lead him to the discarded cloth. 'It's going to be a long battle in this sand.'  
'We'll get through it Ironhide, we always get through the challenges.' Chromia nodded, getting busy with clearing sand out of joints and wiring. 'You just relax and let us take care of you.'  
'Thanks girls, really.'

#~#+~+#~#

Coming together for their big scene, nine Autobots in costume headed for Skids and Mudflap, their various heavy construction vehicle costumes well coated with dust and debris to give them the look of hard working machines.  
"This is it guys, our moment in the spotlight."  
"Don't get too excited up there Groove, no one will ever celebrate our costume work."  
"You just had to destroy the moment, didn't you First Aid?"  
"He's right though Air Raid, no one will know it's us in here. The characters are celebrated with merchandise, not the actors inside."  
"Alright, focus guys. This is our time, doesn't matter if no one knows we're in here. What matters is doing justice to the franchise. This is for the glory of all Autobots."  
"Nicely said Bluestreak."  
"Thanks Hot Spot."

Pulling up in their positions, the group waited for their cue from John before starting their transformations and began combining, showing off the true beauty of the creation Wheeljack and the rest of the build team had worked so hard to put together. Devastator was a truly magnificent piece of work, a lot of time and effort had gone into making him look this good. The team inside had spent a lot of time on this as well, passing hours with practise runs and going over the sequences for the transformations and movements that Devastator had to make once he was all together.

Stepping, resettling and finally lifting his head, Devastator roared to the heavens, the greatest triumph of Autobot building since their base was first established.  
"Holy shit, that thing is awesome." Skids uttered, looking up at the massive monster.  
"Whoa, and we're supposed to fight it?" Mudflap added, not wanting to go anywhere near it.  
"Relax you two, we're still in control." Bluestreak replied, down at the bottom of the pile but still a vital piece. Without a left foot, Devastator wasn't much of a soldier.

Snarling and growling, Devastator advanced on the little group, crushing anything in his path and terrifying everyone that saw the massive machine. Up on the pyramid nearby, even Ultra Magnus was intimidated by the mighty beast but as Megatron, he couldn't show his fear. He was Devastator's master, not the other way around. Activating the complex systems in the head, Groove started up the vortex, sucking up anything and everything in front of Devastator. Sucking up a yellow fuel truck, the pyrotechnics kicked into action, a flowing wave of fire starting in the neck and blasting out the back but leaving Devastator unharmed. It was nothing but a show of power, no one was harmed by the flames and flying debris.

Running for the one secure building in the area, the hardest part of the scene for Skids and Mudflap came up. They knew they were safe with Devastator but that didn't make it any easier for Mudflap to face what was coming. Losing his grip on Skids, Mudflap went tumbling backwards towards the vortex, bouncing and ricocheting off debris and the ruins revealed by the removal of the sand. Managing one last desperate grasp, Mudflap radiated pure fear and it wasn't all an act. He really didn't want to be in this predicament, it was all too real for him.  
"Bee! It's that time!"  
"I'm here Mudflap, it's alright. Shhh, no one will ever hurt you. You are safe with us."  
"I still don't wanna do this."  
"Bravery is facing your deepest fears. Be strong little one, you can do this."  
"I can do this."  
"Good, make it yours. Prove how brave you are."

Drawing strength from Bee's silent support, Mudflap released his grip and fell back towards the vortex just as Groove deactivated the system and closed the maw, trapping Mudflap inside. Coughing and hacking, Devastator clearly didn't approve of his Mudflap meal, turning his head away from the trio still near the building. Grieving for his brother, Skids perked up when John came up with a new plan and they charged, running for Devastator and the only safe place left to hide.

Reliving the past, Mudflap went ballistic inside Devastator's mouth, always aiming away from where Groove was tucked up in the control centre but still doing a lot more damage than expected. He busted out from behind the right optic and got really mean, more than distracting Devastator from the trio on the ground. Taking flight and flipping over, he kept screaming at the giant Decepticon, firing hard and catching the lower jaw. Trusting in the humans to stay safe, Skids climbed the nearest leg to help his twin, really getting into the action now that he'd seen Mudflap was able to enjoy it. Treating the giant Decepticon like a massive toy, they really had fun with the battle, Mudflap swinging from a grappling line shot by Skids and coming around to land on the crane cables. Wobbling, Mudflap caught his brother before they both fell then accidentally shot him in the face, knocking them both off the cables and back to the ground. It was a complete accident, way off script but Michael let them continue, liking the little addition. So long as no one was seriously wounded, it wasn't a big deal. Getting up again, the twins kept moving with Devastator, protecting the humans and looking for another chance to tear more holes into Devastator.

#~#+~+#~#

Back at the main fight, Bumblebee was in the thick of things, up against Hot Rod as Scrapmetal and Wheeljack's next puppet, the Ravage body double. On Shia's cue, he flew into battle, taking a beating but handing out a bigger one in reply. Hot Rod really didn't have a stable mode for this film, he had to really focus to balance on the single point of contact he had with the ground while swinging around his track whips and taking a flogging from the bright scout. Tearing into Hot Rod's costume with all he had, Bumblebee was still careful to not reveal the bright paint underneath or harm Hot Rod but he had to make the destruction look real.

Slinking around the corner of a building, Ravage opened fire on Bumblebee, the hits minor but they looked good. Leaping onto his back, the puppet proceeded to tear of several armour panels before Bumblebee was able to grab it and make the kill. Grabbing the tail in one hand and the body in the other, Bee pulled hard, ripping out the tail and quite a few internals, the outer pieces just falling away. The kill claimed, Bee went right back to Hot Rod, bringing down a world of hurt on the older Autobot until he finally killed Scrapmetal as well.

Standing over the body, he tried to retract his mask but he had a problem, it wouldn't budge. Groaning across the comms, he reached up and grabbed it and shoved, trying to force it back but whatever was jamming it was simply refusing to be moved. Stumbling around as he fought with his mask, he tripped over a low wall and went down hard, head slamming into the ground. Much to his disgust, his mask retracted flawlessly, the jam dislodged by the processor jarring impact with the ground.  
'Cut! Bumblebee, what was that?'  
'You okay Bumblebee?' Wheeljack asked, emerging from behind another building.  
'Yeah, I'm alright. Your Ravage puppet jammed something and my mask got stuck.' Bee nodded, sitting up slowly and looking around. 'Sorry Michael.'  
'My bad, I should have aimed away from the mask tracks.' Wheeljack added, hanging back so he didn't leave tracks in the sand.  
'Is it unstuck now?'  
'Yes Michael, it's working again now. That fall knocked the blockage out of the way.'  
'We can salvage the scene. Go stand over the body again and we'll fix the rest in editing.'  
'Hey, I'm still in here you know.' Hot Rod growled, one blue optic visible behind the Decepticon mask.  
'I keep forgetting the Decepticons are just Autobots in costume.' Julie added, gazing at Hot Rod in wonder.  
'It's alright Julie, we can be mean when we have to be.'  
'Okay people, places!'

#~#+~+#~#

Making his spectacular arrival into the desert fight, Skyfire bungled the landing but rolled through it and regained his feet, charging into battle with an announcement of his name and put the hurt on Jazz in the Mixmaster costume. Aiming just below the protected control area, he cleaved the reformed cement truck in half, getting right into it until Mixmaster was destroyed. Inside the trashed costume, Jazz trembled in fear and promised to never, ever piss Skyfire off, just in case the shuttle took serious offence.

Less than pleased to be back in the Scorponok costume, Gears made his approach into the battle, kicking up waves of sand then launching at Jetfire. Off camera, Skyfire chuckled faintly as he took control of the Jetfire puppet that had taken his place on the battle field, turning it slightly as Gears got his rotating pincers stuck into one hip then swung up to tear into the abdomen. Grabbing Gears in one hand, Skyfire smashed him into a wall before Scorponok got free and went digging into Jetfire's abdomen again, a mortal wound for the old jet. Tearing Scorponok out again, Jetfire crashed to his knees, slamming the smaller Decepticon to the ground seconds before he too bit the sand. Coming in for one last shot, Scorponok was determined to kill the jet and prove he was a worthy opponent.  
'I'm too old for this crap.' Jetfire uttered, one massive fist slamming into Scorponok's head and killing it.  
"Nice shot Skyfire, right outside the safety screen."  
"Thanks Gears. Yo Jazz, you okay?"  
"That was seriously fuckin' scary Skyfire. Remind me to never piss you off."  
"You know me Jazz, I'm too laid back to get pissed at you. Jetfire's a legend among flyers though, we all know his stories."  
"Still, you are one scary assed Decepticon when you have to be."

#~#+~+#~#

Up on the false pyramid built for them to play with, the nine inside Devastator all knew what was coming and braced for the inevitable as they continued tearing into the top of the pyramid, revealing the ancient device hidden below.  
"Wow, the build team really outdid themselves this time. Devastator is cool but just look at the detailing on this thing."  
"No kidding Slingshot, it's a work of art alright. But so is this Devastator costume."  
"You got that right Blades. Shame it's about to be destroyed."  
"This is so going to hurt."  
"Relax guys, we've got a trained medic on hand if anything goes wrong."  
"Just remember to brace when we get the cue and we'll be okay. If anyone does get hurt, it's going to take me a little while to get out of this thing."  
"Way to boost our confidence First Aid."  
"Hey, lay off him Fireflight, we're all going to struggle to get out of these costumes without help."  
"Skids and Mudflap are close, they can help out."  
"I'll just be glad when I get rid of these damn wrecking balls under my ass. I'm the comic relief for this metal monster."  
"You asked to be down there Hot Spot."  
"Only because I'm used to being the torso. If I'd known about the scrotum joke, I wouldn't have bothered."  
"At least you'll be remembered for a great joke."  
"It's almost time guys, get ready."

Braced inside their reinforced safety cages, the nine clung on tight as Devastator was hit by the rail gun and knocked off the pyramid, Slingshot sent flying off behind as the rest tumbled down the side of the pyramid and came apart. Hanging on for dear life, the group endured the worst ride of their long lives, bouncing around in their cages until finally coming to a rest among the debris knocked from the pyramid.  
"Big D Autobots, sound off." Mudflap called, heading for the wreckage with Skids.  
"Groove, still intact."  
"Air Raid, sore but alive."  
"Hot Spot, alive but trapped."  
"First Aid, dizzy but clear for duty."  
"Fireflight, minor injuries."  
"Slingshot, hurting but okay."  
"Blades, some damage but mobile."  
"Streetwise, uninjured but assistance required."  
"Bluestreak, twisted doorwing but otherwise fine."  
"Hang in there guys, we'll get you out real soon." Skids promised, transforming and heading to help Streetwise as Mudflap worked to get Hot Spot freed from the wreckage.

#~#+~+#~#

Listening to the chaos all around him and following the chatter on the comms, Optimus knew his time was fast approaching and smiled inwardly, looking forward to his great resurrection. This one rang like a previous death, a death just before the dark times. But this time, his life was restored not by a fellow Autobot but by a human boy. The story had changed from the original but this still felt right, it felt like he'd been working his way to this for longer than just shooting this movie. Safe in his chest, the real Matrix of Leadership hummed contentedly, reminding him of the battle he'd faced to reclaim it after the dark times. That battle was the reason he was here still, an unwavering leader and a great descendant of the first Primes but still just another Autobot. Resting in the sand had reminded him that he was not above anyone, be they human or Autobot. He could not be a leader without the Autobots and he couldn't be a protector without humans. This movie had not only told a part of their story but had reminded all Autobots of just why they kept their oath to protect Earth and brought back memories of so many great achievements and losses.

Feeling Shia climb onto his chest, Optimus snapped his focus back to the present and willed his body to stay relaxed until the moment of his reawakening. Standing tall and raising the prop Matrix overhead, Shia thrust it into Optimus' chest with all his strength, a twitch and a surge of energy over his plating the first warning on the reawakening. Systems surging into full power, Optimus onlined his optics and coughed up a mouthful of sand and dust. Climbing down and moving back, Shia watched as Optimus slowly sat up, groaning with every movement of his battered body until he was up on one knee.  
'Boy, you returned for me.'  
'A living Prime. I don't believe it!' Skyfire added, the puppet still standing after all it had endured.

Using another of Wheeljack's toys to disappear then reappear in the middle of the group, Inferno knocked everyone flying. Hopping around a few times, his Fallen costume really upped the intimidation factor, leaving Megatron in his wake as the most ugly and hate worthy Decepticon around.  
'my Matrix.' he half growled, half purred, a magnet in his palm calling the prop to his hand as he crushed Optimus back into the sand then left with another lightning flash.  
"Shit Inferno, you been taking evil lessons from Ultra Magnus or something?"  
"And from everyone else that has played Decepticons."

His struggle to rise wasn't an act, Optimus was still bearing injuries from before his on screen death to really sell the fact he was freshly reanimated and only barely recovered. Groaning with effort, he managed to roll over, but actually getting up again was going to take a bit longer. Rolling again, he propped his chest up on his elbows, grunting with effort and wondering if he'd be able to get through this without dropping offline from his injuries.  
"Pit this hurts. It's not all acting guys, this really is painful."  
"Hang in there Optimus, you can do this."  
"When we get to the parts transfer, I'll send you some extra energy to get you through it."  
"Here, this'll help Optimus." Wheeljack offered, staying off camera as he got a pain blocker into Optimus' leg, the only area he could access without appearing on camera.  
"Thank you, all of you. When this is over and we get back to base, I'm all yours Ratchet."  
"You'll have my attention before we get back to base, I promise you that Optimus."

#~#+~+#~#

Landing on the pyramid, Inferno and Ultra Magnus went through their scene together, powering up the machine. Really all the prop did was complete a circuit to start a lights and sounds display but the effect was enough to look dangerous. Stepping back as the machine powered up, Inferno went a little too far and slipped, tumbling down the pyramid face.  
"Skyfire! Inferno's fallen off the pyramid!" Ultra Magnus called, spotting the shuttle off camera.  
"I've got him!" Skyfire replied, engaging his atmospheric thrusters and taking off.

Zipping towards the pyramid, he rolled and reached out to Inferno, catching him gently in both hands before he took too much of a beating. Holding the shaken mech close, Skyfire tipped his wings and shot up before turning and coming back past, gently depositing Inferno back beside the machine.  
"Thanks Skyfire."  
"Nothing to it Inferno. We all need a helping hand some days."

With Skyfire back out of sight, it didn't take long to get filming back on track, the humans opening fire on the pyramid as Ultra Magnus bragged about the lack of time for the humans to destroy the weapon. Running through the next set of actions smoothly, Inferno wondered how it would look after the CGI work had been done and all the tanks and other vehicles had been gathered up and dropped again.

#~#+~+#~#

Crawling towards the now offlined Jetfire puppet, Optimus barely felt the electrowhip bite into his armour as Jolt and Ratchet got busy but he certainly felt the weight of the added flight parts. He also felt the power boost passed along, the minor addition enough to get him moving again but there was still no promise he'd be able to finish his scene. Still pressing forwards, Optimus rocked with each new addition, Jolt's electromagnetic abilities quite strong when he really had a power build up.

Starting to rise slowly, his frame disappearing under Jetfire's parts, Optimus was suddenly knocked over backwards, a loud clang ringing out across the set. Caught off guard by the sudden fall, Jolt was yanked off balance too, his quick reactions preventing his electrowhips from being damaged but not his armour as he hit another wall.  
'Optimus?' Ratchet ventured, approaching the downed leader slowly.  
'Fuck it Jolt! As if I'm not feeling bad enough, you decide you're gonna try and take my head off completely? Optimus snapped, both hands pressed to his throbbing faceplates.  
'Huh? No way, I'm a better shot than that. You moved out of sync with what I was doing.' Jolt replied, getting to his feet and rebuilding the Jetfire puppet for another take.  
'So a wing flap to the head was my fault? You're the one controlling this transfer thing. You said you could do it without making me feel any worse. Get it together Jolt!'  
'You want this done without trouble? Then stay the fuck still!'  
'Alright you two, that's enough. Just settle back Optimus, let's have a look at the damage done.' Ratchet soothed, sinking to his knees in the sand and gently prying Optimus' hands away. 'Just relax, you're in good hands now Optimus.'

The damage was severe but not irreparable with what Ratchet had available in his medical kit. Wielding his fine tools with a master's hands, Ratchet quickly repaired the left optic and both nasal plates along with the upper lip plate before he discovered the missing vocaliser strands.  
'When we're you planning on telling me about this Optimus?' Ratchet asked, digging out a temporary patch to fill the lost notes.  
'After filming had wrapped. It's a minor inconvenience Ratchet, nothing more.'  
'Eh, you're a stubborn one Optimus. This'll keep you out of trouble until there's time for a proper fix.' Ratchet sighed, fitting the patch and moving on to removing the long dent in Optimus' helm.  
'You keep this up and no one will believe your reputation as a grouch, Ratchet.'  
'I figure you're feeling low enough without my temper making it worse. Probably got a nasty processor ache blooming too, going by this dent. You've still got a fair bit to do and by the end of it, you'll be feeling so bad that my foul temper will be a relief.'  
'Ultra Magnus, Inferno and Skydive. It's going to be one hell of a fight to finish this business with The Fallen.'  
'Don't worry about that for the minute, let's get through this transfer bit first. One step at a time.'  
'Wise words Ratchet, wise words.' Optimus agreed, relaxing into the gentle hands working on him. 'You're not wrong on the processor ache either. Frag my head is pounding.'  
'I'll give you something for that in a moment. I'm almost done here.'  
'You're a good friend Ratchet, thank you.'  
'What are friends for, if not to haul your broken skid plate off the battlefield time and time again?'  
'Ironhide always said I have a bad habit of forgetting when to duck.'  
'That's putting it mildly Optimus.'

#~#+~+#~#

Getting through the transfer scene without another mishap, Optimus gained his feet and took off, rocketing into the sky on his new engines. Roaring towards the pyramid, he smashed through the ring of rocks that would be added later as CGI and tackled Inferno off the pyramid, crashing through several layers of stones and knocking Ultra Magnus off as well. Hovering in the air for a moment, he fired at the machine, destroying it.

Crashing down on a false ancient site, Optimus and Inferno landed heavily and rose together, engaging in another fierce fight, Ultra Magnus picking his moment and getting involved as well. Engaging his thrusters, Optimus forced them all through another wall, crushing Inferno into a stronger wall before turning to engage Ultra Magnus once more. Apologising for the damage he had to do to Ultra Magnus, Optimus went on the offensive, destroying his cannon and breaking his arm to point the cannon at Ultra Magnus' face. Praying that the super reinforced plating held up, Ultra Magnus bravely took the shot to the face, roaring in pain but miraculously alive after such a shot. Slicing through his other arm, Optimus shoved Ultra Magnus away and stepped back, thrusters spinning through 180 before lining up on Ultra Magnus' chest. Letting rip, Optimus sent him flying through another wall to crash heavily in the courtyard below.  
"You still intact and functioning over there?"  
"Yeah, the reinforced panels held up perfectly."  
"Good. Your turn Inferno."  
"Aww hell, I so ain't looking forward to this."  
"Neither am I Inferno, neither am I."

Trading blows and tearing pieces off each other, Optimus and Inferno really got stuck into it, Inferno taking a thrashing but holding firm, refusing to call for a break to bring in the puppet unless it was absolutely necessary or on cue for the switch. Optimus took the jet engine to the face without complaint, knowing Ratchet wouldn't be impressed but he'd deal with that later. Swinging Inferno around again, he shoved the staff through his shoulder, narrowly avoiding the protective barrier inside and slamming Inferno into a reinforced pillar.  
'Give me your face.'  
"Wow, seriously creepy line there Optimus."  
"I know, I feel so dirty just saying it."

Bringing the puppet online in the tiny window he had, Perceptor took the spotlight behind the scenes as Optimus grabbed the escaping evil then rammed one hand through the chest, the effect amplified by the strategically placed pyrotechnics that really gave the blow a boom.  
'I rise. You fall.'  
"Epic awesomeness Optimus. That's killin' like a Boss."  
"Thank you Jazz."

#~#+~+#~#

Well dosed on pain blockers and feeling a little better after a short recharge, Optimus was ready to face his last scene, a peaceful scene with Shia on the aircraft carrier taking them home. Walking along the deck, he came up behind Shia and looked out across the water, still amazed by all this planet had to offer.  
'Thank you, Sam, for saving my life.'  
'You're welcome. Thank you for believing in me.'

Moving over a little more, Optimus put his hands on his hips and looked up, delivering his monologue and hoping he didn't stuff it up like last time.  
'Our races united by a history long forgotten and a future we shall face together. I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message so that our pasts will always be remembered, for in those memories, we live on.'  
'And cut! That's a wrap guys!'  
'Thank fuck for that.' Optimus sighed, easing down to sit on the deck, feet hanging over the stern. 'Self-repair systems are good but no way could I stay on my feet any longer.'  
'You know, I never took you for having a potty mouth, Optimus.'  
'With all the time we've spent on Earth, you're surprised we've picked up such things as foul language? Shia, we have our own curse words but we have realised that sometimes human curses fit the situation better.'  
'Cybertronian swear words?'  
'Get back here you Pit-forsaken Unicron-spawned glitch!' Ratchet roared, startling the humans as Sideswipe skated the length of the deck, leaving the medic well behind him.  
'That was a perfect example Shia.' Optimus chuckled, turning to look at Sideswipe. 'What'd you do to annoy Ratchet this time?'  
'He wants to go probing under my plates for any sand. Wheeljack already did it once, I don't need another check.'  
'Sideswipe, I'm asking you very nicely to go let Ratchet check for sand. Please, be patient and let him take all the time he wants.'  
'Now why would you ask me to do that Optimus?'  
'Because if you do, I'll give you six cubes of my special high-grade.'  
'You really don't want to see Ratchet, do you?'  
'Not for a while yet. I need some time to relax and unwind before facing Ratchet with this battle damage.'  
'Alright, it's a deal. Six cubes of your special high-grade in return for my keeping Ratchet busy for as long as I can.'  
'And an extra one for everyone else you convince to help with the distractions.' Optimus nodded, figuring if he was going to keep Ratchet distracted, he might as well go all the way.  
'Just how long do we have to keep him distracted?'  
'Long enough to get home. You can tell those that agree to help that I'll give all helpers two cubes of my high-grade when we get back to base.'  
'Alright, I'll do my best.'  
'Thank you Sideswipe.'


	3. Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

With some reluctance, the Autobots signed up for a third movie, wondering just who would take a heavy beating this time. Michael had come prepared, bringing a list of all the Autobots and Decepticons that would be in this movie. Ultra Magnus and Skydive weren't too thrilled to see they were reprising their roles as Megatron and Starscream once again. Prowl was also recalled, Barricade required to make another appearance. Reassured that he wouldn't have a repeat of the satellite scenes, Blaster also returned to the filming team to bring Soundwave to life. Optimus couldn't say he was looking forward to another run at Ultra Magnus; he still had some lingering damage from their last throw down. At least he wasn't facing hell alone; Ironhide, Ratchet, Bumblebee and Sideswipe were all lined up for the third as well. Skids and Mudflap were offered another spot but they turned it down, promising a cameo appearance but no more big fight scenes. Wheelie was coming back as well, his foul attitude a nice counterbalance to the other Autobots.

There were a few new characters too, bringing Wheeljack, Mirage and the Wreckers into the spotlight to stand with their friends. After a debate regarding names and the connections the changes would bring, Mirage and Wheeljack accepted the alterations, figuring that being known as Dino and Que was a small price to pay for fame. Swearing to behave and stay out of trouble, the Wreckers were all too happy for their chance in front of the camera. They might have only been minor characters but that didn't matter to them, they were looking forward to getting a chance to show their talents.

With the returning characters and new Autobots taken care of, attention turned to the rest of the cast. There were quite a few new characters to deal with, upping the challenge for the build team but they knew they could meet the challenge head on like always. They had a lot of work to do; building body double puppets for those that were going to be killed and creating several highly detailed puppets, one that outclassed Devastator for complexity and several smaller ones. They also had a lot of costumes to build and reinforce to take some massive punishment. Sorting out the roles quickly, everyone was soon satisfied with the plans and got to work on preparing for the third movie.

#~#+~+#~#

While everyone else lounged around in the shade of tarpaulins strung up near where filming was going on, Optimus was busy with one of the GC animators, redoing his opening monologue to better fit with the opening sequence being shown. The sequence was still a rough draft but it would do to get the timing of the words right.  
'We were once a peaceful race of intelligent, mechanical beings. But then came the war…between the Autobots who fought for freedom and the Decepticons, who dreamt of tyranny…Overmatched and outnumbered, our defeat was all but certain…But in the war's final days, one Autobot ship escaped the battle. It was carrying a secret cargo, which would have changed our planet's fate…A desperate mission. Our final hope…A hope that vanished.'  
'That was perfect Optimus. Once we get the opening sequence finished, we'll marry it up with that take and we can tick that scene off the list.'

Returning to the shade and settling, Optimus looked around at his friends and nodded, satisfied that this movie would do justice to another part of their history. This movie wasn't a true story from their past, more a remix of several battles reworked to give the humans a bigger job and allowing more Autobots to live after the battle was over. As it was they were losing some old friends in this film but nowhere near the numbers that had fallen in the past and been reborn through a variety of methods. None of those acting in the film knew who was marked for death, only the build team knew the full extent of that and they were sworn to secrecy. The Autobot cast would find out day-by-day as they received each new piece of the script and shared it around.  
'Reckon you're on the death list again Optimus?'  
'I doubt it, two deaths in a row is a bit extreme. It's probably your turn again Magnus.'  
'Oh come on, I've already died once. Find someone else to put your bet on. Smokescreen's got the book on it.'  
'Huh? What'd I do now?' Smokescreen asked, looking up from where he was helping with the Laserbeak puppet.  
'Just talking about the pool you're running for this one.'  
'Oh, right. So far a lot of folks are betting on Megatron getting it from you, Sentinel Prime getting smashed by Ratchet and Ironhide and Optimus taking another fall thanks to Sentinel. There are a few scattered bets on others but that's the big three so far. You want in Optimus? We're betting high-grade this time.'  
'Hmmm, put me down for two on Ironhide by Sentinel.'  
'What? Now why would ya think I'm gonna get killed this time around? And by Sentinel at that?'  
'Just sharing the betting Ironhide. I know you put your booze on my head. As for Sentinel, little birdie told me that he turns traitor.'  
'Well yeah, but that's a safe bet. You're always gettin' hurt.'  
'Okay, two on Ironhide. Anyone else or is that it?'  
'One each on Wheeljack and Mirage too, both via Soundwave. Michael has a habit of killing off first timers.'  
'Ouch, thanks for the confidence boost Optimus.' Mirage sighed, admiring his new red paintjob and blades.  
'Jazz, Jolt, Arcee, Elita One and Chromia, all in for one movie and dead.'  
'You might have a point there Optimus, so far only Bumblebee, Ironhide and Ratchet have made it through without getting killed.'  
'Either way I'll have a win. Either another old hand gets it or a first timer doesn't survive a single movie.'  
'Now that's just cold big man.'  
'Oh, and who did you bet on Jazz? I know you're in on this.'  
'Bee and Prowl, one's a safe bet the other highly unlikely but he was the only one without a bet on his head.'  
'Jeez, thanks a lot Jazz. No way would Michael kill me off, I'm the leading car. First Autobot to make his arrival.'

#~#+~+#~#

Swapping looks and sniggering, Perceptor and First Aid got their opening scene and it was sure to be a laugh. They were working with the new girl, Rosie; she hadn't yet met the puppets and was bound to freak out at their bad behaviour. Shia had been asked not to mention Brains and Wheelie to her, everyone was eager to see how she reacted to them now that she was actually facing them in all their weird glory. Setting Brains on scene and activating the link, First Aid crept him through the apartment set towards Shia and Rosie, making out in the bathroom.

Getting into position, Brains let out an appreciative little groan, getting Rosie's attention and one heck of a scream from her. Responding to her scream and Brains' foul behaviour, Shia tried to catch him but Brains avoided his reaching hands, only to get kicked up the aft. Rosie let everyone know just what she thought of Brains but it really didn't faze the little laptop, he'd been called worse than gross.  
'I'm sorry. They're stranded here. Somebody's got to watch out for them.'  
'Yesterday, that one was in my underwear drawer.'  
'Did research. Looking real good too.' Brains laughed, secure in Shia's hand then flinching when the young actor hit him. 'Oh! No need to hit me.'  
'You are so not a normal boyfriend.'  
'That's what you love about me, isn't it?'  
'He-he. Cry baby.'  
'We're not at the love word yet. Maybe a little bit closer when you're covering your half of the rent.'

Tapping on the balcony door, Wheelie got his time in the spotlight too, giving Shia a piece of his mind before riding their doggy co-star into the house and jumping onto the couch.  
'Yo, Brains, wassup?'  
'Doing good.'  
'Oh shit, I seen this one. It's the one where Spock goes nuts. You know, Sam, I don't know about moving in with this chick. What if she dumps us like the last girl?'  
'She was mean. Didn't like her.'  
'Us guys got to stick together.'  
'We are family.'  
'No, we are not family. You're a political refugee, and I have finally found someone who appreciates me for me.'  
'Well, you tell her that we're not your pets, and we're not your toys! All right? We're an advanced, genius alien race just looking for a home.' Brains replied, never afraid to speak his mind.  
'And cut! Nicely done everyone.'

Entering the set again, Rosie walked over to Shia and seriously considered slapping him before the false wall was lifted down and Perceptor and First Aid peered into the set.  
'I was told I was working with two puppets but you never told me they were that creepy.'  
'Rosie, you haven't seen anything yet. Megan copped it a lot worse than you will, believe me.' Perceptor replied, remembering the now infamous leg-humping.  
'I find that hard to believe. Those two are creepy.'  
'Hey Perceptor, give her a taste of Wheelie's little thing.' First Aid smirked, warning Shia about blowing their secret.  
'No, that'll always be Megan's thing. I'm sure something will come up that will always be Rosie's thing but for now, she'll just have to wonder about these two little ones.' Perceptor replied, reaching into the set. 'Come on Wheelie, time to go.'  
'You too Brains, let's go.' First Aid added, reaching in as well. Racing across the floor, the two little ones settled in their hands and were whisked away, leaving Rosie in shock.

#~#+~+#~#

Racing in convoy for his first scene, Mirage was already on a high, caught up in the lifestyle of a movie star. The hours were long and the work a challenge but they got the royal treatment when they were off camera and had all the comforts of home in their portable hangers at every location. Right now he had the fun of working with Sideswipe, Wheeljack and Bumblebee to deal with an illegal nuclear site in the Middle East.

Bolting through his first onscreen transformation, Mirage missed his first contact point and shot off course, narrowly missing the building and the tank nearby to shoot over the guard rail and plummet out of sight. Curling up to protect his vital areas, Mirage bounced twice before he was caught in a gentle embrace and pulled to a semi familiar chest. Uncurling a little, he looked up and smiled as Silverbolt carried him back to safety.  
'You alright Mirage?'  
'I think so. Thanks for the catch Silverbolt.'  
'No problem, Michael had a feeling someone might have an accident on these cliffs.'  
'The protective panels Wheeljack made are good too, all that abuse and not a scratch.' Mirage added, checking his pristine finish for damage but finding none.

Depositing Mirage back on the road, Silverbolt turned and disappeared from sight again, waiting in the valley below in case anyone else came off the road. Regrouping back at their start point, the group made their run again, racing towards the nuclear site again. This time Mirage hit his mark, coming up over the cowering humans and delivering his line with a real hint of warning, blades flashing in the sun.  
"Now that's making an entrance Mirage."  
"Thanks Bee. I can see why you enjoy this movie business so much."  
"We're just warming up, it gets so much better."

#~#+~+#~#

Taking their places on the Chernobyl set, Skyfire and First Aid had a big challenge on their hands. It was time to bring Driller into action for his first scene but this was one big, highly complicated puppet, hence the need for two controllers and a lot of tight focus on what they were doing. One false move and a lot of humans could be harmed, along with Optimus and Hot Spot.  
"Ready for this Aid?"  
"Let's do it Skyfire. It's time for the biggest damn puppet to live."  
"Oh yeah. Driller inbound."  
"Copy that Skyfire, we're ready for it."  
"No you're not Optimus. You've never seen Driller in all his glory."

Running through the internal scene quickly, First Aid controlled the smaller head that grabbed the engine part as Skyfire commanded the rest of the structure, keeping the humans safe while getting the job done. Engine part secure, Driller retreated and headed for the secondary set where Optimus would get his first look at the massive thing.

Rumbling into position, Optimus got his first scanner readings of the massive puppet and swore across the open comms, startling everyone that was listening to the chatter.  
"What's with the language Optimus?"  
"I just got a look at Driller. Fuck me, he's huge. I have never seen anything like that before."  
"Only gets worse Optimus, this isn't the first time you get this close to Driller. He seems to like you."  
"That is so not helpful First Aid; I don't want to be anywhere near that thing."  
"Too bad for you, according to our copy of the script, you get to play with Driller three times."  
"Fuck it! Why does the bad shit keep happening to me in these movies?"  
"It can't be all sunshine and rainbows for our gallant leader."  
"Oh shut up Ratchet! Smokescreen, is the betting pool still open?"  
"Yeah, it's still open. What's your bet?"  
"One on Ratchet, hopefully Driller gets him."  
"Now that's cold Optimus but a bet's a bet. One on Ratchet to get eaten by Driller."  
"Here's hoping you get eaten by that metal monster. One right back on Optimus!"  
"Alright Ratchet, your return bet is registered."  
"Yo Optimus, back on track. It's time."  
"Fuck, I still don't want to do this."

Scoring the first hit, Driller knocked Optimus flying and went after the humans, the great leader taking a moment to get his head on straight again before grabbing his sword and shield from his new multi-capable trailer and taking off after Driller, ordering the humans to stay behind him. Reinforced heads smashing into the ground and carving out new tunnels, Driller made for a tough opponent, there were so many dangerous bits that needed to be taken out to render him harmless. Roaring and snarling, the metal monster circled the humans, confining them in a small area for ease of slaughter but he wouldn't harm them. Reclaiming his glory, Optimus pulled off a stunning reverse lateral spin, carving off the head with the engine part and landing heavily on the ground. Switching his commands, First Aid took over the smaller tentacles, allowing Skyfire to focus on coiling up the main body for Hot Spot's big arrival on scene. Rising up from the coils, Hot Spot stood tall in his costume, calling Optimus' name. Rolling over, Optimus skidded through the dirt with a growl, shield and sword coming up for protection as he glared at Shockwave. Kicking up a cloud of dust, Driller made his escape from the scene, tucking neatly back into his shipping containers for easy transport to his next scene.

On the other side of the set, Perceptor launched Laserbeak into action, shooting out the window and spiralling down towards the white car among the ruins. Bringing his cannons up again, the metal condor made short work of the kill and swept around to land on the bonnet, peering in through the broken glass at the stunt corpse inside.  
'Pleasure working with you.'  
"You get a lot of creepy characters, don't you Perceptor?"  
"That's the way it goes Skyfire."

#~#+~+#~#

Pretty much background actors for the first part of the N.E.S.T hanger scene, the Autobots went about their duties casually. This was their first scene with Frances McDormand, the actress playing Charlotte Mearing. Right now she was busy talking to Josh but soon she'd be right in the thick of the Autobots.  
'Good, you're here! Me name's Que. I do hope you have answers for him. I've never seen him so upset.'  
'Optimus, you remember Charlotte Mearing? Our Director of National Intelligence?'  
'He's in a bad mood. He's not talking to anybody today.'  
'What is this, the silent treatment?'  
'We're seen that and this is not that.'  
'Definitely not.'  
'This is worse.' Ironhide replied, walking over to stand beside Optimus and strike him on the roof. 'Prime! Make something of yourself!'

Shifting just enough to transform one arm, Optimus grabbed Ironhide's leg and heaved, dropping the darker mech face first to the floor. Arm transforming back into the side of his alt-form, a faint groan echoed from the radio.  
'Fuck off!' Optimus growled, lowering on his suspension and going silent again.  
'Well, that's not like our Optimus.' Wheeljack remarked, stunned by what had just happened.  
'What was that all about?' Josh asked, looking up at the gathered Autobots.  
'Hey now, what's bothering you Optimus? This isn't like you at all.' Bumblebee tried, taking a knee beside their leader. 'Come on, you can talk to me about it, whatever's bothering you.'  
'Ngh, don't wanna talk. Just want quiet.' Optimus groaned, stunning the humans again. They'd never heard Optimus sound so ineloquent before.  
'I think I know what the problem is.' Ratchet offered, moving to stand beside Optimus. 'Still feeling down after your first encounter with Driller, hey?'  
'Yeah.' Optimus sighed, sinking even lower on his suspension.  
'It's alright, I'll make you feel better. Come on, let me in Optimus.' Ratchet soothed, taking a knee and gently touching one armour panel. 'There we go, it's alright now.'  
'Wow, I had no idea Ratchet could be so gentle.'  
'Don't start Josh, it's a personal matter.' Wheeljack warned, trusting in Ratchet's abilities.  
"Thanks 'Jack."  
"Don't mention it Ratch."

Finding a suitable line under the shifted armour, Ratchet injected the pain blockers and several other meds to help Optimus relax and to dissipate the shocking processor ache he was dealing with. Gently guiding the panel back into position, Ratchet stood and headed for one of the offshoot rooms, one he knew would be quiet and dark.  
'I know you're hurting Optimus but come with me, I know a spot where you can rest up comfortably.' he coaxed, waving everyone out of the way. Engine rumbling quietly, Optimus inched after the medic, clearly in a lot of pain, keeping his engine barely above idle and moving so slowly.  
'Ratchet?'  
'Shhh, I'm right here Optimus, I'm right here.' Ratchet uttered, one hand lightly brushing his roof. 'I'll guide you through, it's okay. This way, nice and slow.' he coaxed, keeping in gentle contact with the semi as he guided him away from the bright lights of the set and into darkened hanger off to the side.

Once they were gone, Wheeljack settled on the floor and looked down at the stunned humans, not quite sure how to explain what Optimus was dealing with and why Optimus was so unlike his usual self. Connecting to the internet, he found the closest human condition to what Optimus was suffering from and hoped it made sense.  
'That's not like Optimus, what's wrong with him Wheeljack?' Michael asked, wondering when they'd get him back on set.  
'Judging by the way he was behaving and his problems navigating the set, he's got our equivalent to a human migraine. His sensors are reeling, navigation is offline and scanners feeding his already troubled processors even more bad information. He's feeling queasy, barely in control of his complex systems and in quite a lot of pain. He will recover but it will take time, darkness, quiet and a cocktail of medications. For now, he's not up to anything more taxing than supervised recharge.'  
'He needs to be supervised? So we're not getting Ratchet back on scene for a while either.'  
'In his current condition, Optimus is incapable of a stable transformation. If he does purge, he'll need help to get sorted out before he floods his systems by accident. Ratchet is used to his migraines, he's helped Optimus through hundreds of them over the millennia and Optimus knows that Ratchet will never say anything about what he witnesses during these migraine attacks. Optimus can get a little weird during them and that's all I'm saying on the subject.'

In the darkened hanger, Ratchet managed to get Optimus to transform and caught him as he stumbled, gently easing the great leader to the hard concrete floor. Shuffling around a little, Ratchet let him use one bright thigh as a pillow, lightly running his fingertips over that shapely blue helm.  
'There you go, just relax. Shhh, I've got you, everything's alright now youngling. Rest now, I'll stay right here and keep you safe. Just rest, there's nothing else you need to worry about. Hush youngling, I'll take care of everything.'  
'Make it stop. Please.'  
'I'm doing all I can, the meds will kick in soon and make you feel better. There we go, dim those optics and relax youngling.'  
'Don't leave.'  
'I won't, I'll stay right here until you're feeling better. Here, you hold my hand so you know I won't leave.' Ratchet promised, reaching out to guide one large hand up to firmly wrap around his own. 'There we go, all secure again.'  
'Thank you Ratchet.' Optimus whispered, shifting a little more before finally settling into a light recharge, refusing to let go of Ratchet even as he rested peacefully.  
'Rest well Optimus, I'll never abandon you to your pain.' Ratchet whispered, leaning back against the wall and dimming his optics, settling in for a long wait.

#~#+~+#~#

Emerging from the darkened hanger several hours later, Optimus seemed to be back to his best but a quick glance at Ratchet told a different tale. His look warned them to treat Optimus with kid gloves for the rest of the day, unless they wanted another migraine attack to drive him back into the darkness. Passing that warning to the humans as Optimus returned to his place on set, they went from the top.  
'Prime! Make something of yourself!' this time Ironhide faked the heavy strike. 'He's pissed.'

Pushing through his transformation and surging, Optimus worked through the lingering pain in a remarkable display of mental strength. Flaring out his armour, he made for an intimidating sight, his minor wobble as he swooped down to human level forgotten.  
'You lied to us. Everything humans know of our planet we were told had all been shared. So why was this found in human possession?' he demanded, getting right back into the swing of things.  
'We were in the dark on this also. It was Director Only clearance at Sector 7 until now. The bag.'  
'Which bag?'  
'Hermes. Birkin. Green ostrich!'

Grateful for the extra bracing points on the floor, Optimus knew he couldn't afford another fall in this scene, he'd already held up filming for way too long. Intakes humming, he cooled his systems and forged ahead, listening to the lines and holding strong against his urge to go curl up in the dark and sleep again. Staggering to his feet as soon as the camera was off him, Optimus was so grateful for the strong hands on his arms, Ironhide and Ratchet right there to keep him going when all he wanted to do was quit. They were good like that, always in tune with his needs.

Optics brightening at the mention of Dr. Buzz Aldrin, Wheeljack really had to fight to stay in character. Although he'd never admit it in public, the inventor really did admire Aldrin and his achievement.  
"Wheeljack, behave."  
"I'm trying Ratchet, this is just so amazing."  
"It was mentioned in the script."  
"Yeah, but I never thought it would actually be Buzz Aldrin."  
"Wheeljack, focus or I'm gonna drop you."  
"Alright, alright. I've got it covered Ratchet."

Unaware of the silent conversation behind her, Frances continued with her lines, walking over to shake Buzz's hand and introduce him to the towering Prime.  
'from a fellow space traveller, it's a true honour.' he offered, craning his neck as Optimus eased to the ground, Ironhide right there to catch him if he fell again.  
'The honour is mine…whoa.' Optimus yelped, losing his balance but before he could endanger anyone, Ironhide and Ratchet were there again, lowering him gently to the ground. 'I apologise, I am not usually so unstable on my feet.'  
'Everyone has a bad day now and then, Optimus Prime. No need to apologise.'  
'This should steady you up again Optimus.' Ratchet added, finding a line in his back and getting in another dose of medication.  
'Dr Aldrin, you may call me Optimus.'  
'Then I insist you call me Buzz.'  
'A fair trade, Buzz.'  
"Hey Optimus, can you ask Dr Aldrin something for me? Please?"  
"Wheeljack now is not the time. The sooner we get this scene done, the sooner I can go back into recharge for a bit longer. There is something I will do instead. Do not abuse my trust in you for this Wheeljack." Optimus added, glancing back at the inventor before turning his gaze back to Dr Aldrin. 'The Autobot inventor Wheeljack has been an avid follower of your career since the Apollo mission. I would consider it a personal favour if you could spare some time to speak with him.' he offered, indicating Wheeljack in the back of the group.  
'I would be honoured to sit and speak with Wheeljack, so long as I am allowed to ask questions of my own about your people.'  
'Wheeljack, is that a suitable deal for you?'  
'Yes Optimus, thank you. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about our race Dr Aldrin.'  
'I'll have my assistant leave my number with someone so you can contact me when you're free Wheeljack.'  
'I am Bluetooth capable, Dr Aldrin. That would be the easiest way I think.'  
'Very well.'  
'Optimus, you alright to continue?'  
'Yes Michael, my systems have stabilised to now.'  
'Alright people, back on track.'

#~#+~+#~#

Working in Africa for the time being, Ultra Magnus hated his new alt-mode, he looked like a junker and didn't sound much better. Shuddering to a stop, he triggered his transformation, the process lacking the usual smoothness he displayed but he took some comfort in knowing he'd never have to put this damn costume on again after this movie was wrapped. Gaining his feet, he pulled his torn hood up to shield his damaged head, the wound would be painful if it was real. Roaring like a lion, he headed for the Decepticon camp slowly, one hand reaching over his shoulder to draw his firearm.  
'All hail Megatron.'

Securing his weapon again, he entered the pitiful camp, the little Igor puppet hopping around, drooling and just generally annoying but Windcharger was getting a thrill out of his role. Ignoring Igor, Ultra Magnus sat beside the steel drums holding several hatchling puppets, the group controlled by Skyfire. Crushing up some of the metal debris around them, Ultra Magnus fed the little ones, displaying the closest thing to affection that Megatron knew.  
'Don't be greedy, my fragile ones.'  
"Steady on Ultra Magnus, don't go too soft."  
"I'm trying not to Skyfire, these little ones are just so cute."

Arriving on scene and spinning through his landing, Skydive joined the little gathering, bowing and scraping to Lord Megatron.  
'My poor master. How it pains me to see you so wounded, so weak.'  
'Spare me, you gaseous sycophant!' Ultra Magnus snarled, swatting at one of the repair drones working in his helm. 'You know what you are told, which is nothing.'  
"Take it easy on those repair drones Ultra Magnus. I know they're annoying but they're only a loaner from Ratchet."  
"Oops, I've already crushed a couple of them."  
"Try to resist the urge to squash them, you know how Ratchet can get."

Joining the group, Laserbeak shot a holographic buzzard out of the sky and swooped around to land on Blaster's offered arm, the once bright red mech now hidden under silver armour.  
'Soundwave reporting, Lord Megatron.'  
'And what news from your little assassin?'  
'Autobots have taken the bait! They're discovered the Ark and returned with its cargo.'  
'You did me great honour tracking that ship to the moon. Your human collaborators have served their purpose, Soundwave. It's time to eliminate loose ends.'  
'Laserbeak, kill them all.'  
'With pleasure.'

Reaching up to readjust his vocaliser, Blaster coughed and sunk down on one of the bigger bits of debris, shaking his head slowly.  
'I always did hate Soundwave, now I've got another reason to hate him. His voice is murder on my vocaliser.'  
'Try being snivelling Starscream for a day, you'll be begging to go back to Soundwave.'  
'You've both got it easy. Staying in the Megatron mindset is a real challenge, especially with all these cute little hatchling puppets around.' Ultra Magnus sighed, swatting at another repair drone. 'And I have to put up with these damn drones.'

#~#+~+#~#

Stretched out on the rooftop of the N.E.S.T base, First Aid and Perceptor were right back in the thick of things, finding the weirdest of perches that allowed them line of sight to their characters but kept them out of the camera angles. For the moment they couldn't actually see their puppets but as soon as the soldiers opened the car doors, they'd have the sight line needed to make their little ones behave badly.

Some of these actors were new arrivals to the movie, unused to the bad behaving mini Autobots in the back of the car. Doors opening and guns swinging into the car, Wheelie and Brains reacted accordingly, letting out a yelp of shock and raising their hands. While Shia was having his wrestle with another actor, one of the old hands gently lifted the pair down and set them safely on the ground, waving one of his co-stars out of the sight line up to the rooftop.

Camera coming back to them, Wheelie and Brains were unafraid of the three soldiers pointing firearms at them, sticking up for each other and refusing to be cowed.  
'This is how you treat Autobots? We're on the same team.'  
'Yeah, enjoy your next job at 7-Eleven, dickhead.'  
'That's right.'  
'A-hole.'

Making his arrival onto the scene, Bumblebee yelped over the comms as he went through the electrified wire but he pushed on, warning the soldiers back with raised hands and threatening body positioning.  
'That's my car.' Shia countered, looking at the soldier for a moment. 'Come here. Come here!'  
'Come on. Sam.'  
'What is your deal? I know your black ops stuff is important to you. I'm not trying to diminish it or guilt-trip you or anything, I just never see you any more. You can't come to the garage and just hang out one night?'  
'Sam. That makes me feel bad.'  
'I hope you feel bad. You should feel bad. Look at the jalopy I'm driving now. I feel bad every single day.' Shia replied, Bee showing his sorrow with drooping doorwings and a slouch.  
"Ouch, he's got a mean tongue that Shia."  
"The trick is not to take it personally, First Aid. He's just following the script, we all are."  
"I know Bee, it's still hard to hear him say such hurtful things. How do you cope."  
"By finding a tender pair of arms to hold me close until it stops hurting."  
"Someone needs a hug do they?"  
"You've still got scenes to do here, First Aid, I'll go find Wheeljack or Mirage."  
"Okay Bee."

#~#+~+#~#

Relaxing in the steel seat, Inferno waited for his reawakening and went back over the scene, making sure he had it right in his mind. For now he had to be patient and when cued, he got to go a little crazy on Optimus then turn his anger to Frances. He wasn't real happy to be playing another Decepticon but he had the stature for the role and the only other Autobot big enough had been contracted to revise his role.

Approaching the unconscious Sentinel, Optimus shifted his chest armour and produced the prop Matrix, tossing it around gently between his hands with minor fluctuations of his internal magnetic field. He kept the field well under control, not wanting a repeat of Ratchet's mistake with over strong field and too many metal pieces around them. Walking the length of the room slowly, he got right up close to Inferno, the prop hovering over his hand before he thrust it forward.

Launching out of the chair, Inferno took Optimus to the floor, drawing his sword as they went down hard. Pushing against Inferno's bulk, Optimus had to be careful not to struggle too much, the sharpened tip of the blade prodding at his helmet as he tried to reason with the revived Autobot. Gathering behind the chair, the rest of the Autobots watched on, Ratchet helping to further calm Sentinel and prevent a real fight from breaking out.

Getting to his feet, Inferno looked around slowly, still clutching his weapon as Optimus looked up at him from the floor, the Matrix discarded beside him.  
'We are here. You are home, Sentinel.'  
'The war…The war!'  
'The war was lost. Cybertron is now but a barren wasteland.' Optimus replied, sitting up and wrapping one hand around the Matrix to secure it. 'We have taken refuge here, on planet Earth. It's human race is our ally.' he continued, getting to his feet slowly.  
'My ship. We came under fire. The pillars. Where are the pillars?'  
'You saved five of them, including the control pillar.'  
'Only five? We once had hundreds!'  
'Excuse me, gentlemen. May I ask, what is this technology you're looking for?'  
'It is the ability to reshape the universe. Together the pillars form a space bridge. I designed, and I alone, can control it. It defies your laws of physics to transport matter through time and space.'  
'You're talking about a teleportation device, aren't you?'  
'Yes, for resources, for refugees.'  
'Refugees, or troops of soldiers, weapons, maybe bombs! A means of an instant strike! That's it's military function, isn't it?'  
'It is our technology and it must be returned.'  
'Yes. If humans say so. You can't just bring weapons of mass destruction into our atmosphere! You kind of have to clear customs first! A little formality called paperwork kind of separates us from the animals.'  
'I will overlook your condescending tone if you heed the gravity of mine. The Decepticons must never know the space bridge is here. For in their hands, it would mean the end of your world.'  
"Someone has been taking intimidation lessons again."  
"Humans are easy to intimidate."  
"Easy Inferno, don't get too hooked up in Sentinel's mind."  
"I got it covered Prime, relax."

#~#+~+#~#

Figuring it was time to properly introduce Frances to the nasty ways of Wheelie and Brains, First Aid didn't make Brains jump off the table when Frances pulled her gun, instead he went the other way. Latching onto her arm, Brains looked up at the older woman and proceeded to make Wheelie's bad behaviour look tame.  
'Oh yeah, who's your daddy? Who's your daddy?'  
'Come on Brains, that's my gag.' Wheelie called, climbing up onto the desk with help from Shia.  
'You're a leg bot.' Brains replied, groaning his joy to the ceiling.  
'Ratchet, control your apprentice! He's being disgusting with Brains!' Shia called, knowing the older medic would hear him.

Responding instantly to the call from Shia, Ratchet transformed and rushed for the office set, hoping to catch First Aid's bad behaviour so he could properly chastise the young mech.  
'Aid! What are you doing?' Ratchet bellowed, looking up at his apprentice in his hideaway. ' That is disgusting! Get off her arm immediately!'  
'Oh come on Boss, I'm just welcoming Frances into the team. It's no worse than what Perceptor did last time.' First Aid replied, returning Brains to the desk.  
'Oh yes it is First Aid. What Perceptor did was on script and requested by Michael. You're letting Brains' bad behaviour influence your own processor. That was uncalled for First Aid. I really thought you could be trusted with Brains.'  
'No, please don't take him away. I'll be good, promise.' First Aid implored, not wanting to lose his minor role.  
'Ratchet, don't be too harsh on First Aid. Remember when you were just an apprentice medic. You were a right glitch back then.' Wheeljack added, weighing into the debate.  
'I never did anything like that. Did you see what he did?'  
'I saw. He's young, he'll do stupid things from time to time. Let's face it, we've all done stupid things during these movies. You walked into powerlines, Optimus farted, Ironhide clobbered himself with his own cannon, Ultra Magnus took a header off the clock tower, Sideswipe keeps falling over and so many other stupid goofs and screw ups over the last two movies and we've already had some classics in this one. Mirage took flight in the Middle East and had to be rescued by Silverbolt. Just let it slide, these sorts of things happen in the movie business.'

Shoulders drooping, Ratchet sighed and looked up at First Aid, still half expecting to be told to hand over his control gloves.  
'Get down here First Aid.' Ratchet instructed, voice leaving no room for argument.  
'I'll be right there Boss.' First Aid replied, disappearing from sight above.  
'Don't be too hard on him Ratch, he's just a kid really.'  
'I know Jack, I know. He's too young to know so much about war, they all are really.'  
'Aid's a good kid Ratch, he's always going to remember those times but he's in control. Don't let him think you care so little, he still looks up to you as his second creator.'  
'I'm still disappointed he did that but you're right.' Ratchet nodded, touching Wheeljack's shoulder for a minute before walking over to where First Aid was waiting.

Keeping their distance, everyone watched as Ratchet and First Aid talked quietly, the two medics trilling and clicking in discussion. First Aid was nervous, expecting big trouble from the senior medic. Ratchet was calm though, soothing his worry and warning him not to do it again. Nodding slowly, First Aid promised to behave and keep Brains on script for the rest of the movie. Forgiving his bad behaviour, Ratchet smiled faintly and opened his arms, his junior willingly stepping into the tender embrace. With that, everyone knew that First Aid had been forgiven for his foul behaviour and everything was back on track. Releasing First Aid slowly, Ratchet nodded and dismissed him before returning to the team.  
'Everything okay Ratchet?'  
'Yeah Optimus, everything's back under control. First Aid's on his best behaviour.'

#~#+~+#~#

Linking up with Inferno, Sideswipe, Bumblebee and Mirage took the charge, racing along the closed highway for their next big knock down drag out fight. By no means the biggest fight of the movie, this one was still going to be painful for a lot of Autobots. First Aid, Gears and Cliffjumper were all in this scene too, playing three Decepticons after Sentinel. This would be their only sequence in front of the cameras as actual named characters, after this is was back to puppets and unnamed Decepticon protoforms. Ironhide was also due to get stuck into this battle but not for a while yet, there was still a lot of crazy stunts before the big black got to play.

Racing into position, the three black suburbans took their places, First Aid transforming and tossing John's stunt double out of the Maybach before advancing over the white car, demolishing the large street sign ahead and continuing to surge. Vaulting off the ramps created by the felled sign, Cliffjumper and Gears transformed and joined the chase, crashing through the other stunt cars on the road and roaring in challenge.

Working to a carefully timed schedule and a well planned attack strategy, the six main combatants started their deadly dance, the Dreads gaining ground on the Autobots, Sentinel still leading the pack. Hurdling the Autobots, the three false Decepticons gained ground on Sentinel, Bumblebee and Sideswipe switching into stealth mode to bring Hatchet under attack. Transforming and dodging another trashed stunt car, Mirage let rip with his grappler lines, latching onto Hatchet and skating along after him, kicking up a shower of sparks. Jumping onto the central barrier, he avoided the heavy storm of fire from Bumblebee and flicked Hatchet onto another stunt car, this one actually a puppet because of the destruction dealt.  
"Cliffjumper, you okay in there buddy?"  
"Yeah Bee, I'm cool."  
"Alright, hang tight. Skids and Mudflap are coming up behind to get you out of there."

Flowing with the planned destruction, the remaining six in the scene kept up their roles easily, putting in a few little flashes of extra stunt work to really make the scene pop. Well ahead of the Autobots, First Aid spun and swept up a truck loaded with gas tanks, pitching it back into the pursuing trio. Slipping around it, Mirage opened up the area for Bumblebee's next stunt, watching on his scanners as the bright yellow bot reacted to the cylinders. Bursting through his transformation and ejecting Shia into the air, flipping over and protecting the young actor from harm as Shia screamed bloody murder. Clearing the wreckage, Bee snagged Shia again and yanked him into the transformation, the young actor still screaming but once again perfectly safe as he was guided through and returned to his seat.  
'A little trust Shia, you're perfectly safe.' Bee chuckled through the radio, his voice hidden by the screaming of his tyres as he spun a 180 as Mirage raced past.  
'All right, back to N.E.S.T!' Shia called, still trying to catch his breath. 'Damn it Bee, a little warning next time.'  
'Sorry.'

#~#+~+#~#

Dreading what was coming, Ironhide waited for his cue to join his last fight of the movie. He couldn't believe this was happening. They only got each scene 30 minutes before shooting began for it, only those behind the scenes had access to the complete script. Somehow, despite that limitation, Optimus had called his death scene and the bot that was to murder him. It wasn't just the fact he was marked for death that bugged him, it was the fact that Sentinel was going to shoot him in the back, the most disrespectful death for a warrior of his calibre. At least the last time he'd died, he'd been facing Megatron face to face.

Charging into the area, Mirage lead the way, Sideswipe right behind him and the remaining Dreads bringing up the rear. Whipping around the corner, Sideswipe transformed on target, turning to face the black Decepticons.  
'Dino, I got him!' he called, opening fire on the pair. 'Whoa, shit! No I don't!' he yelped, tangling up his tyres and flipping over backwards towards a building that they weren't allowed to damage.  
'I got you Sideswipe!' Mirage called, bolting through his transformation and diving at the silver mech. Knocking him away from the building, the pair landed in a sprawled heap on the ground, Sideswipe caught between the unforgiving bitumen and Mirage's weight.  
'Cut! Sideswipe, what the hell just happened?'  
'Mirage, I really am glad for the catch but you're on my interface panel.' he groaned, one red thigh crushing sensitive equipment.  
'Oh, sorry.' Mirage replied, scrambling back to ease the pressure. 'Apart from that, you okay?' he added, taking a seat beside his friend until he'd recovered.  
'Yeah, just a few more dents and scratches for the collection.' Sideswipe nodded, one hand pressed to his codplate. 'Sorry Michael, got my tyres tangled.'  
'Been a while since you got tripped up by a speed skating stunt.'  
'Feh, easy mistake. Didn't leave enough space between my tyres for the pass. I'm a little out of practise, nothing major.'  
"Get it together Sideswipe, it's almost time for this great warrior to go out."  
"Aw shit, is that coming up now?"  
"Real soon Sideswipe, real soon."  
"And you want it to happen sooner?"  
"Might as well get the indignity over and done with."

Resetting quickly, Sideswipe adjusted his distances and flew along backwards, nailing the curves and crosses to get back behind Ironhide and change directions again. Bracing for the impact, Ironhide charged forward, slamming into First Aid and Cliffjumper, all three of them transforming through the sparks and debris raining down. Tumbling through the air, First Aid and Cliffjumper crashed down hard, Ironhide managing to keep his feet. Skating in to join the scene as the Dreads regained their feet, Sideswipe left a nice set of skid marks on the bitumen, a set that any speedster would be proud of.  
'Is there a problem?' Ironhide asked, massive cannons pointed at the pair.  
'Whoa. A little Mexican standoff we got here.' Sideswipe added, still keeping one gun trained on each Dread even as he spun around and backed out of the middle of the circle.  
'Weapons down.'  
'And we'll let you escape with your dignity.'

Chattering away in their native tongue, voices mangled by some quick reprogramming, the Dreads seemed reluctant to comply but when Ironhide insisted again that they drop their weapons, all four did it together. While Sideswipe praised their behaviour, First Aid and Cliffjumper revealed their other toys, the spiked clubs emerging from their backs. First Aid swung first, drawing one of his clubs and whipping around to throw it at Ironhide, hitting him right in the reinforced area so there was a lot of sparking but no damage. Responding to Sideswipe's late warning, Cliffjumper took his first swing, pegging one of his at the silver mech.

Vaulting into the sky and slicing through the club, Sideswipe flipped right over and came down, aiming for the cannon he was supposed to kick to Ironhide. But for some reason, his angle was off. He still got the cannon, kicking it through the battle to clang into Ironhide's face as he lost his grip on the road and went soaring into another building. Due to the rotation he'd been using, he shot through the open door to a repair shop, rather than a wall or window so damage was minor and a reset easy.  
'Cut! Sideswipe…'  
'What the fuck is wrong with you today Sideswipe!' Ironhide cut Michael off, sitting up slowly and rubbing his helm.  
'Ow…sorry. I don't know what happened there. I was right on the spot for the jump and kick, I'm not sure why it went wrong.' Sideswipe replied, crawling out of the building and stretching his doorwings. 'Owww. Fuck it. I need a field patch over here.'  
'What'd you do this time Sideswipe?' First Aid sighed, his mask folding out of the way.  
'Twisted up my doorwing. No idea what I got that caught in to make that kind of a mess.' Sideswipe shrugged, one doorwing badly dented and twisted out of shape.  
'Ratchet! I'm gonna need some help out here!' First Aid called, trying to figure out how to unfold this twisted piece of metal into a doorwing. 'And a spare left doorwing for Sideswipe!'  
'Sorry Ironhide, I know you want to get this over with and I'm trying to get it right for you but…it's just not my day today.'  
'Ah, don't worry about it Sideswipe, shit happens. It was a nice shot though, fair between the optics.' Ironhide replied, a neat dent marking the passage of the weapon.  
'Here Sideswipe, you'll need this back.' Cliffjumper added, returning with the cannon that had gone another couple city blocks after catching Ironhide.  
'Thanks Cliffjumper. So what do you think of your first movie appearance?'  
'I'm having a ball. Where else could I even hope to stand up to you two? This is technically my second appearance, I was in Revenge as one of the protoforms in Egypt. I'll be back later in this one too, running around in DC and Chicago.'

#~#+~+#~#

Patched up again and feeling more confident after a few extra practise runs, Sideswipe got through the stunt without flaw, taking a backup role as Ironhide dealt with the Dreads, shooting First Aid and ripping the club out of his chest as Sideswipe duelled with Cliffjumper again. Swinging the club around, Ironhide imbedded it in the empty head and flipped Cliffjumper onto a wrecked car nearby, kicking it into another auto shop. There was quite a nice explosion from that but Cliffjumper was safe, shielded from the pyrotechnics and unharmed by his adventure.  
'Class dismissed.' Ironhide declared, securing his cannons to his back again. "Cliffjumper, First Aid, you two alright?"  
"I'm okay Ironhide, the costume held up perfectly." Cliffjumper replied, glad that scene was over with.  
"Perfect shot Ironhide, right in the protective panel. No harm over here." First Aid agreed, still flat on the ground and waiting for the cameras to be well away from him before moving away.  
"The support team will be here shortly. Come on Sideswipe, let's get this over with."  
"Let's roll Ironhide."

#~#+~+#~#

Watching from a hidden vantage point inside the N.E.S.T warehouse, Ironhide glanced at Wheeljack as his body double rumbled onto scene, a perfect match for the brave warrior it was replacing.  
"Damnit Ironhide, don't to this scene without me there! I already lost you once, I can't face this without seeing the fakery."  
"I don't have a choice Ratchet. We're almost at the point."  
"Then fuck it up. Make Michael call for a retake. I have to be there to see it happen!"  
"Wheeljack, I need you to make that puppet fuck up. I don't care how, I just need you to buy enough time for Ratchet to get here."  
"But Ratchet's not…oh, I remember now. How long do I have to hold things up?"  
"Ratchet, ETA? Wheeljack's gonna make the puppet fuck up but he needs to know how long."  
"Wheeljack, I'll be there in five minutes, six tops."  
"Alright Ratchet, I'll hold up filming until you arrive. Just hurry it up."

Starting the transformation, Wheeljack "accidentally" put the sequence out of sync, tangling up the mighty black puppet and really making a mess.  
'Cut! Wheeljack, what just happened?'  
'Sorry, we tried a new system with this puppet to make it easier to control the pyrotechnics from the gloves. No one wants a repeat of the early explosion incident.' Wheeljack lied, emerging from the warehouse and starting to manually untangle the puppet. 'It won't take long to fix this Michael, ten minutes tops.' he added, managing to get the puppet flat on its back.  
'Alright Wheeljack. Get it done and keep everyone safe.'

Opening the chest and tinkering with the complex control systems inside, Wheeljack looked like he was busy fixing the problem but those in the know knew he wasn't really doing anything.  
"Come on Ratchet, I can't keep Michael held up too long. He'll realise I'm faking these repairs soon."  
"I'm almost there Wheeljack, just keep doing what you're doing. Gotta sneak in the back way."  
"Alright, let me know the moment you're in position."  
"Wilco 'Jack and thanks."

Coming up into the warehouse at last, Ratchet transformed and made his way over to where Ironhide was standing, in the perfect spot to see the destruction but still protected from the raging battle afterwards.  
"I'm here 'Jack, let's do this."  
"About time Ratchet, I was running out of fake repairs to do." Wheeljack replied, moving back and transforming the puppet back into its alt-mode. 'Okay Michael, that's got it fixed. We're right to go.'  
'Nice job Wheeljack. Alright people, let's get this done.'

Holding Ratchet as close as was possible for them, Ironhide kept his focus locked out the window as the scene flowed on, Shia and Josh doing their lines.  
'I got my whole team deployed looking for them. Ironhide!' Josh barked, cameras drifting to catch the puppet transforming. 'Protect Sentinel! Get him locked up inside!'  
'Consider it done!'  
'Hey, you've got to guard him, 'cause he's the key to the whole thing.'  
'Indeed I am. What you must realise, my Autobot brothers, is we were never going to win the war. For the sake of our planet's survival, a deal had to be made with Megatron.' Inferno confirmed, drawing his weapon.

Tensing up as Inferno turned, Ratchet watched in horror as the first shot from the cosmic rust cannon struck the puppet in the back. Keeping Ratchet held tight to his frame, Ironhide adjusted his vocaliser to a preset quality and gasped in pain, everything timed by the fall of the puppet. A second shot was fired, the puppet falling to the ground as Ironhide cried out again, voice strained as the puppet struggled for life. Crawling as best it could, lubricant dripping from its mouth plates, the puppet was a mess but it was better than really losing a friend.  
'Get back!' Josh cried, retreating from Sentinel Prime.  
'What have you done?' Ironhide groaned, the puppet rolling onto its back and gazing at one disintegrating hand.  
'I hereby discharge you from duty.' Sentinel declared, levelling his gun at the puppet again. Starting to scream again, the puppet was silenced by a third shot to the chest, the explosion tossing Bumblebee and Shia well back.

Turning away from the scene outside, Ratchet hid his face in Ironhide's chest plates, trembling as Ironhide gave one last groan before readjusting his vocaliser back to the standard settings.  
'Shhh, easy now Ratch. It's over, there's nothing to see outside. C'mon, I've got you.' he uttered, guiding Ratchet away from the windows. "Who's got the cleanup, Wheeljack?"  
"Skyfire's in position to deal with the debris once filming has moved on. Take care of him Ironhide, he needs you now."  
"Got it covered Wheeljack."  
'Don't you ever leave me like that 'Hide, swear you won't.' Ratchet uttered, sagging against his taller mate once they were well away from the mess in front of the warehouse.  
'I'll never leave you Ratch, no way, no how. I swear on my spark, I will never leave you behind again.' Ironhide promised, holding Ratchet tight and rumbling his engine soothingly. 'I love you, have since I first saw you and will for eternity.'  
'Love you too 'Hide, always and forever.' Ratchet nodded, safe and protected in those familiar black arms. 'I can't lose you again.'  
'Not gonna happen Ratch, you're stuck with me forever.' Ironhide replied, drawing back a little and turning Ratchet's right arm over to reveal the simple glyphs carved there. 'I will never, ever leave you behind. We go together, no matter what happens.' he insisted, thumb tracing over the old carving, put there by his hands centuries ago, back when they first tied their lives together.  
'United always, my strong protector.' Ratchet whispered, recalling the vows spoken when they bonded. 'Bear my name proudly, brave Ironhide, and know that I will always love you. Our lives are intertwined, no matter the fate Primus has chosen for us.' he continued, revealing his name on the inside of Ironhide's right wrist.  
'Bear my name with honour, compassionate Ratchet, and know that I will always love you. Our lives are intertwined, no matter the fate Primus has chosen for us.' Ironhide nodded, remembering their special day so proudly.

#~#+~+#~#

Doing his big scene with Rosie, Shia and Patrick, Blaster felt a faint tickle in his systems but dismissed it as Laserbeak came swooping into shot, driving Shia away from Rosie and Blaster. Running a few diagnostics as the tickle got worse, Blaster couldn't figure out what was causing the problem. Dismissing it again, he refocused on Patrick and Shia as they went through their lines, Rosie still screaming for help like she was supposed to.

Suddenly all focus went to Blaster as his silver form jumped two feet up and back, landing heavily on his suspension as a choked engine backfire echoed across the set.  
'Blaster?' Patrick asked, staring at the Autobot in disbelief as he repeated the jump and strange noise.  
'Rosie…out.' Blaster managed, hopping backwards again. Scrambling out of the car, she ran to join Shia and Patrick, deeply confused by Blaster's behaviour. Jolting and backfiring several times in quick succession, Blaster managed to transform and sat on the grass, one hand rubbing under his nasal plating.  
'Blaster, you okay man?' Shia asked, watching the silver clad Autobot as he appeared to sneeze, making the same noise as before but now it was clearer.  
'Yeah…I think…so.' Blaster nodded, definitely sneezing if that wet sniffle was anything to go by.  
'What's the matter Blaster?' Rosie asked, moving forward again.  
'My allergies…are playing up.'  
'An Autobot with allergies? That's a new one.' Shia mused, jumping back as Blaster splattered the ground with a mix of lubricant and grease. 'Anyone got a giant handkerchief?'  
'Funny…Shia…real…funny.' Blaster sighed, head already starting to ache from the sneezing. 'It's Rosie's…perfume.'  
'My perfume? What's wrong with it?'  
'Some of the chemicals in your perfume have upset Blaster's systems. Have you recently changed your perfume choice?' Perceptor asked, emerging from his hiding place and joining the group.  
'Yes, I did. I knew I had a party scene so I put on my favourite perfume.'  
'Then I suggest you go back to your trailer, take a shower and get rid of that particular perfume. There's no way Blaster can perform like this.' Perceptor instructed, digging something out of his subspace and handing it to Blaster.  
'Thanks…Perceptor.' Blaster nodded, accepting the large canvas square and sneezing into it.  
'But how am I to know which of my perfumes will affect Blaster?'  
'Take…Eject and…Rewind.' Blaster replied, the pair emerging from their hiding spot under his armour and jumping down. 'Boys… go with…Rosie.'  
'Allergy tests dad?' Eject asked, looking up at Blaster with sad optics.  
'I'll…be fine…Perceptor…knows what to…do.'  
'Alright dad, we'll handle it. Lead the way Rosie, we've got the same allergy problem as dad.' Rewind nodded, walking over to take one hand. 'We can help find a perfume that won't affect him.'

Watching the twins walk away with Rosie through blurry optics, Blaster groaned and sneezed again, absolutely miserable and unable to believe he'd been caught short by his allergies.  
'So, when will this episode of Autobot weirdness end?' Shia asked, shaking his head in wonder. Of all the strange behaviour he'd seen in the Autobots, this was a new one.  
'As soon as Blaster purges his systems of the irritant.'  
'Oh man…anything…but…the hose.' Blaster groaned, spotting the innocent green tube already hooked up to the nearest tap. 'Not… in base…mode…please.'  
'Would you rather sit here all night sneezing Blaster?'  
'Just…tell me…you've got…the driers.'  
'Yes Blaster, Air Raid is bringing them as we speak. I called him the moment you started sneezing.'  
'Alright…let's get…this…over…with.' Blaster sighed, stretching out on the grass.  
'So you're just going to wash the irritant away?' Patrick asked, backing up to avoid getting soaked.  
'It's the easiest way. Some assistance would be appreciated if you don't mind.'  
'Sure, I'll jump in and help out. The costume department always makes spares of every costume for us.' Shia nodded, heading for the hose and other cleaning supplies Perceptor had dropped.

#~#+~+#~#

Finally getting their shot at stardom, the Wreckers took their places and settled into their roles, figuring if they weren't getting much screen time, they'd make what they had memorable in other ways. By the end of this movie, no way was anyone forgetting about them. They'd never be as famous as Optimus or Bumblebee or even Jazz but they weren't going to simply be forgotten.  
'Gonna be 10,000 pounds of torque on that itsy-bitsy bolt, not 19!'  
'You're gonna risk the lives of all me mates! I'll ball you!'  
'These guys are the Wreckers. They take care of the Xanthium. We don't let them off the base much, 'cause they're assholes.'  
'You gotta pull that, ya nancy wanker!'  
'It's time to kill him!'  
'I'm just trying to help, you know. Just doing my job.'  
'Just calm down. Leave him alone. This is a human being.'  
'Epps!'  
'You are ridiculous!'

Sniggering on their team comm frequency, the three foul mouthed Autobots shared a private smile and figured if they were going to be memorable, they might as well be memorable assholes.  
"You two are a laugh, even without me you're assholes."  
"Don't take it personal Topspin, we can't all have talking roles."  
"Probably a good thing I don't have lines."  
"Now come on Topspin, don't be like that. We're assholes together, one way or another."  
"I know Roadbuster, but still. With my vocaliser, lines are a bad idea."  
"You're worried for nothing Topspin, in the thick of things no one notices the problem."  
"But we're not in the thick of things here Leadfoot."  
"Ah, we'll see how it goes. I'll find a moment and try to slip one line past Michael. At best he'll tell me off, at worse it'll be Ratchet giving the telling off and we all know what that means."  
"Yeah, wrench to the helm. For a medic, he's one hell of a bully."  
"Oh hell yeah."

Moving into position to catch the part Roadbuster threw down, Topspin raised his pincers but Roadbuster had obviously decided to mess around. Instead of tossing down the part, Roadbuster launched off the moving platform, tackling Topspin into the dirt.  
'Pile up on Topspin!' Leadfoot called, following Roadbuster down to slam into the pair.  
'Ack! Fuck off the pair of ya!' Topspin yelped, vocaliser squeaking and catching just like it always did.  
'Hell no brother, you're in a big fucking slump.' Roadbuster replied, managing to pin one arm to the ground.  
'I am not!' Topspin shot back, managing to toss Leadfoot aside and turning his focus to Roadbuster.  
'Sure you are, now fight like a Wrecker!' Leadfoot countered, coming in for another go.  
'That's it! Ya both going down!' Topspin snarled, grabbing Roadbuster by the chest plate and throwing him at Leadfoot.

Running for cover as things got out of hand, the humans had no idea what to make of the chaos caused by the three Autobots as they tumbled and tussled on the grass. Thankfully they'd ended up in an area that wasn't going to be on film but it was still going to take a while to hide the damage done. They weren't messing around either, no way was this a sparring match if that's what the rest of the Autobots called their gentler combat style for the cameras. This was a full on brawl, red, green and blue armour flashing in the sunlight as the three went at it hard and heavy.

But just as quickly as it had started, the fight stopped, three battered Wreckers slumped against each other on the grass, laughing their heads off. Leadfoot was flat on his back, one leg wrapped around Topspin's waist as he leant on Roadbuster's chest, shoulders heaving with laughter. One hand resting on Leadfoot's arm and the other around Topspin's shoulders, Roadbuster was the rock for the team, keeping them together as they laughed and relaxed.  
'Feeling better now Topspin?'  
'Yeah Roadbuster, thanks.'  
'Anytime Topspin, you know that.'  
'I sure do Leadfoot.'  
'Come on, back to work.' Roadbuster sighed, working to get them untangled before they stood and headed for the rolling platform again. 'No more slumps brother, we'll be stars together.' he added, one arm slung around Topspin's shoulders as they walked.  
'I'll try. No promises though.'  
'We'll always be here for another pile up, Topspin, whenever you need it.' Leadfoot added, arm around Topspin's waist since he was too short to get his shoulders.  
'Brothers always.' Topspin promised, holding both his brothers close and relaxing. It didn't matter that he wasn't talking on camera, his brothers would lift him to stardom with them.

Emerging from cover, the humans stared as the three crazy Autobots settled near the rolling platform, waiting for the humans to get organised and ready for a retake.  
'What the hell was that?' Michael demanded, approaching the group.  
'Brothers looking out for brothers. It happens.' Roadbuster shrugged, unrepentant for their little spat.  
'T'was all in good fun Michael.' Leadfoot added, leaning against Topspin's side.  
'Topspin's feeling down 'cause he got no lines. We had to buck him up again.'  
'I got the impression Topspin didn't want any lines.'  
'Only because he felt like you didn't like his style as much as ours.'  
'Alright, give me one of your best Topspin.' Michael nodded, figuring he could get the writers to fix something up for the trio. Optics widening, Topspin looked at his brothers for a moment before shaking his head, refusing to speak and hanging his head.  
'Come on Topspin, just one little line.' Leadfoot coaxed, knowing they had to get Topspin past this.  
'I don't really care what the line is, just give me something.' Michael coaxed, not sure why Topspin was refusing now that he had a chance to get a speaking role.  
"Guys, I can't. Ratchet warned me that some of the notes my vocaliser makes can be damaging to human ears."  
"Only on the higher end, stay low and you'll be fine. Come on, you can do this Topspin."  
"Alright Roadbuster, I'll try. I just hope this doesn't all blow up in our faces."

Lifting his gaze slowly, Topspin looked at Michael and nodded, a line coming to him without too much thought. It wasn't much but it was something to maybe get the ball rolling. He wasn't expecting to get a speaking role, his vocaliser just wouldn't allow it but it was part of who he was and Ratchet wasn't going to force a repair if Topspin was happy.  
'Wreckers, kill the big one!' it was more of a snarl than a clearly spoken line but it was a call he'd used on many battlefields of the past. 'Roadbuster, go left! Leadfoot, right flank! I'm going right down it's throat!'  
'I remember that day, we were fighting on Nuvoc 5. That was one mean-assed Decepticon.' Leadfoot chuckled, remembering that massive Decepticon and the weeks they'd spent in the repair bay after killing it.  
'Whoa, now that's one scary snarling voice. I can't pass that off as Autobot, it's too savage. Can you do anything softer, less aggression and more like Roadbuster and Leadfoot.'  
"Oh shit, now what do I do? He's not going to quit and Ratchet'll have my head if I hurt these humans."  
"How much higher can you go without hitting a squeak?"  
"About another octave and a half. Think that'll be enough?"  
"No, he'll never be able to tell the difference. Human ears are pathetic compared to our aural sensors."  
"So what do I do?"  
"Relax Topspin, we'll explain it to Michael."  
"Thanks Roadbuster."  
'Michael, there's a good reason why Topspin has such a low vocal register. He's actually doing it to protect sensitive human ears. Due to an incident when we were no older than Bumblebee, Topspin's vocaliser was severely damaged. There are several areas in the comb that are either fractured or missing completely, leaving him gaps in the tones he has available for speech. He also has some areas that squeak and catch, breaking up his words and generating some extreme frequencies that are harmful to humans.' Roadbuster explained, lightly rubbing Topspin's back to calm him.  
'it's a complex repair, requiring quite a lot of very delicate surgery to get at the vocaliser comb and a lot of very specialised machinery and steady hands to manufacture a appropriately pitched replacement. Topspin has considered the repair several times now but due to another incident in our pasts, we've all got a fear of the repair bay. Our position used to get us in there frequently and we hated it every time but we dealt with it.' Leadfoot added, leaning into his brother to comfort him.  
'Is there any chance of getting the repairs done before filming wraps? I can rework later scenes to get Topspin some lines then.'  
'No, Ratchet's the only one qualified and it'll take a couple weeks. We'd also need Wheeljack and Perceptor for a couple weeks.' Topspin offered, managing to avoid most of the squeaks but he did catch one fairly nasty one.  
'Ow, definitely painful. The filming schedule is pretty tight, I just can't spare the four of you for weeks.'  
'It's alright Michael, I understand.' Topspin nodded, knowing he'd have to face his fears soon and get this fixed. "Ratchet, we need to talk when there's time and privacy."  
"We'll talk tonight after filming wraps, how's that?"  
"Thanks Ratchet."  
"Can you at least tell me what it's about?"  
"My repair, the one I keep putting off."  
"Of course, I understand."

#~#+~+#~#

Rolling along in convoy towards the Xanthium, Wheeljack had a little accident, forcing some very clever driving out of those behind him. With a sudden sharp pop, his left rear tyre blew out, sending several large pieces of rubber flying out behind. Sweeping left, Leadfoot went into the gravel as Roadbuster went right into the grass. Transforming fast, Topspin hit the ground, forcing Ratchet to make a choice. He chose right and went into the grass. Locking up his brakes and swerving to avoid Topspin as he rolled towards the grass, Optimus tagged one wheel in the gravel and spun, trailer swinging out onto the grass and narrowly avoiding Ratchet, the medic flipping over backwards to clear it. Trying to correct his skid, more of Optimus' tyres bit into the gravel and he realised his mistake too late as he was flipped over, trailer disconnecting and skidding further along the road as he landed on his roof in the gravel, tires spinning away. Struggling with control and unable to dodge the incoming trailer, Wheeljack was knocked off the road and onto the grass, tumbling several times before coming to a stop on his roof. Bumblebee, Mirage and Sideswipe managed to avoid the trailer, transforming to clear the path and bring the runaway trailer to a safe halt before anyone else got hurt.

Looking back at the trail of destruction left in the wake of such a minor accident, those still on their feet quickly got busy. Bouncing up again, Topspin ran for Leadfoot, heaving his brother onto his wheels and leaving him to get sorted as he hustled to get Roadbuster off his side. Reaching Wheeljack, Ratchet gently flipped him back over and tapped his manual transformation switch, catching the inventor when he stumbled. Working together, the three smaller Autobots managed to get Optimus back upright, treating him gently but there wasn't really any easy was for three sports cars to flip a Peterbilt over.

Dizzy as hell and showing a few new dents and dings, the group slowly made their way onto the grass near the trailer, sinking down to rest and recover. Those that weren't feeling so messed up headed back down the road to help with the cleanup so they could do a retake and get on with the filming.  
'That was one for the blooper reels.' Ratchet remarked, pulling a large rake out of one of the support trailers and starting to fill in the divots in the gravel side.  
'Must have been a spectacular shot from the air.' Bumblebee agreed, stepping lightly as he started to repair the grass side.  
'That goes without saying Bee.' Sideswipe nodded, mindful of his paint as he fixed up the road markings.  
'We really should have expected a tyre related accident. We got through two movies without one. It's almost expected with this many cars and Autobots around.' Mirage shrugged, dumping the broken tyre pieces in a skip on another support truck.  
'We can forever be grateful it wasn't one of Optimus' tyres, those ones are a lot more dangerous.' Ratchet chuckled, glancing back towards their dizzy friends as Topspin kept an optic on all of them.

#~#+~+#~#

Finally catching some downtime as the Decepticons made their preparations in Chicago, Ratchet took Topspin aside, locking the door to his portable repair bay so they could talk in private.  
'Okay Topspin, what's on your mind?'  
"I really do what to get this problem fixed Ratchet, I hate living the life Bumblebee fakes in these movies. I wanna talk with my brothers, share a joke and actually be normal. I don't remember what it was like to not have the problems with my vocaliser, it's been too long since the incident. I want the repair, I can't take this silent life much longer but…I'm scared Ratchet."  
'Why's that Topspin? You can tell me, no one else will ever know.'  
"Do you remember the Decepticon medic, BoltShock?" Ratchet just nodded, shuddering at the memories that name raised from the corners of his memory banks. "He was the first to find us after we escaped from the Decepticon terror camp mentioned in our files. We thought we could trust him, considering he was a medic. How naïve we were back then. He abused and tortured us for countless cycles, keeping us chained to his tables and doing all kinds of experiments on all of us. I still hear Leadfoot and Roadbuster screaming and crying, begging for mercy and praying for death. I still see what he did to us, can still feel his talons tearing into my armour and all my underlying systems."  
'I'm sorry you had to suffer like that Topspin, I really am. I wish there was something I could do to help clear your memory banks of those horrible times but they are part of who you are.'  
"I know Ratchet, we are stronger because of what we have faced in our youths. But his maltreatment of us is why we are so afraid of repair bays and medics now. It's been millennia since the Autobots rescued us and took us in but still the pain lingers, still the fear holds us back. He is the reason we have to literally be dragged into your domain and kept sedated until we're repaired enough to leave. He is the reason we fear even the most basic of medical checks and resist you all the time. We know you would never harm us Ratchet, deep in our sparks we know but the nightmares and the fear still lingers."  
'And here I thought it was my charming bedside manner.'  
"No, but the foul attitude certainly doesn't make it any easier for us Ratchet. When you get into one of your moods, it's another painful reminder of those horrible times, a reminder that pushes us further away from you and closer to the abyss that always lingers behind us. I know it's who you are but please, try to remember what we've been through. We don't want to see you as another potential abuser, we want to be able to trust you with anything but as it stands, even being here like this is a struggle for me to handle. Please Ratchet, wake up and realise what you're doing so wrong."  
'Shit, I'm sorry Topspin. I had no idea I was causing so much pain. I'm so sorry.' Ratchet uttered, horrified that he was part of the problem as far as the Wreckers and their recovery was concerned.  
"I'm not saying you have to change completely, just try to remember that we're struggling here. We know you're a softy for Optimus, we hear the rumours around base. All we're asking for is a little compassion, a little tenderness and some hope. Is that too much to ask for after all we've suffered?"  
'No, it's not too much to ask. I'm sorry I made things so hard for you. I'm so sorry.'  
"It will take time Ratchet, we're damaged in so many ways but we do want to connect with you with trust and the respect of friends. We'll get there Ratchet, it'll take time but we'll get there. Just promise me you'll try to be a little more aware of our problems. Promise that we won't ever have to fear you again, give us a reason to believe that you're different and that you understand what we're going through. Please, give us something to hold onto while we're trying to come back from the abyss."  
'I swear it Topspin, I promise I'll be more aware and I promise you'll never have to fear me, any of you. I will help you come back from the abyss, whatever it takes.'  
"That's all we can ask for Ratchet, a little help and support. I don't know when I'll be ready for the surgery I need, I still have a long way to go before I'll ever be comfortable in your repair bay."  
'How about you let me take a look at that vocaliser of yours? I'll see if I can figure out something to make things better in the short term.'

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, Topspin recoiled sharply and lashed out at Ratchet in fear, driving the medic away from him again.  
'Whoa, sorry, sorry. Just relax Topspin, I'm not here to hurt you. Easy now, I'm sorry. I should have thought that through a bit more before I said anything.'  
"You promised Ratchet, you swore you'd give us a reason to trust you."  
'I know, I'm sorry. I'm worried for you Topspin, you've been suffering for too long. Look, we can go sit outside with the others while I check your vocaliser. You know Optimus will never let any harm befall you, he'll sit watch as I do my checks where everyone can see. That way I won't be able to do anything abusive, Optimus would never allow it. He'd cave my helm in before allowing one of you three to be abused again.'  
"…alright." Topspin nodded, nervous as all hell but determined to try and trust the medic.

Waving Roadbuster and Leadfoot over to join him, Topspin sat beside Optimus, the bigger mech shifting a little so Topspin could press in against his side a little more.  
"Are you all right Topspin? You seem troubled."  
"I decided to take another chance on Ratchet."  
"Going to attempt that repair again."  
"That's the hope. He wants to have a look to see if a short term fix can be figured out."  
"I'll protect you Topspin, it's okay. You settle in there nice and comfortable, I'll keep you safe."  
"Us too?" Roadbuster asked, wanting to be there for Topspin but scared of Ratchet.  
"I'll keep you all safe. Come now, all of you." Optimus nodded, drawing Leadfoot and Roadbuster onto his lap.  
"Thanks Optimus." Topspin replied, shifting to sit between his brothers, comfortable on Optimus' crossed ankles.  
'Just relax Topspin, you're safe here. I won't hurt you, it's alright.' Ratchet soothed, crouching and coaxing Topspin to tip his head back. 'There we go, nice and still.'

#~#+~+#~#

Making their entrance into the Chicago battle scene after Optimus' grand entrance, the Wreckers went straight for the drone in the ship, transforming and advancing together.  
'Wreckers, kill him!'  
'This is going to hurt!' Roadbuster added, the three of them really enjoying their tug of war with the drone, tearing it to pieces.  
'A lot!' Leadfoot finished, so proud of Topspin but focused on his job.  
'Your leaders will now understand. Decepticons will never leave your planet alone. And we needed them to believe we had gone. For today, in the name of freedom, we take the battle to them!'

Charging into action together, the rest of the Autobots gathered behind Optimus, weapons coming out as the prepared for battle. Coming up from the other side, Leadfoot and Topspin advanced together, Roadbuster hanging back for a minute.  
'I saw your ship blow up!'  
'The ship?'  
'We were never in in the ship! We designed the damn thing, didn't we?' Roadbuster replied, tearing apart one arm of the drone.  
'We were hidden in the first booster rocket to separate. Splashed down in the Atlantic, just as planned.' Leadfoot added, tossing aside the drone head and spitting on it.  
'We ain't going nowhere.' Topspin finished, his voice strong and clear.  
'Cut! What's going on here? I thought Topspin had a problem vocaliser?' Michael called, looking up at the Autobots with a mix of confusion and frustration.  
'Whoa, hold on a minute. Topspin, your voice?' Wheeljack asked, staring in disbelief at the blue Wrecker. He just grinned and nodded, pointing to Ratchet.  
'It's a temporary patch, nothing special Wheeljack. It's only for the really short term, a taste of what the future will hold for Topspin. We'll be lucky if it survives the movie, it's a rough job but it'll have to do for now.' Ratchet explained, glad to see Topspin was treating his temporary patched vocaliser very gently.  
'Thank you again Ratchet.' Topspin offered, relishing the stunned looks all around.  
'Any time Topspin, anytime at all.'  
'Don't worry about reworking any scenes Michael, we'll just share what few lines we have. Topspin gets the small lines, we'll handle the bigger ones.' Roadbuster nodded, coming up to stand behind his brothers. 'He's gotta be real careful with the temp.'  
'I can do this Michael.' Topspin promised, so thrilled to speak without a problem.  
'Alright, fine. Sort it out among yourselves. Let's just get this scene back on track.'

Taking their positions again, Topspin repeated his declaration that they weren't leaving and felt a thrill of pride up his backstruts, so glad to be talking again.  
'Yeah, no one's exiling us.'  
'The Autobots are staying right here. We're gonna help you win this war.'  
'They're surrounding the city to make a fortress so that no one can see what they're up to inside. Our only chance is the element of surprise.'  
'I think I know where to look!'

#~#+~+#~#

Thundering through the debris filled streets, Optimus swore over the open comms again as Driller made an appearance, chasing them down the street and knocking his trailer off and over. Making the choice not to risk another duel with Driller just yet, Optimus motored away from the metal monster, ignoring Hot Spot as he made his appearance too, the Shockwave costume truly terrifying to behold and quite accurate against the original.

Regrouping inside a damaged building, the humans were definitely intimidated by Shockwave and Driller but Optimus was more concerned about regaining his trailer and came up with one crazy plan.  
'Shockwave can't hunt all of us at once. Wreckers, we need a diversion.'  
'Let's get some!' Topspin called, temporarily taking charge of the team.  
'You got that right.' Leadfoot agreed, following his brothers to battle again.  
'Listen, we're gonna circle around to that glass building. And we'll get high enough to make the rocket shot while you guys draw his fire. Let's move!'  
'Wait a minute! I'm not letting you go out there without my urban combat prototypes.'  
'Oh shit, whenever Que says prototype, something goes wrong.' Ratchet uttered, shaking his head slowly.  
'We got to go, Que! Come on.'  
'They're great inventions for kicking ass!'  
'What are these?'  
'Those are boom-sticks. Armed in 30 seconds. Grapple gloves, for climbing.'  
"Wheeljack, those had better be safe."  
"They are, Perceptor built them, not me."  
"Well, alright then."

Tripping on a piece of debris as he exited the building, Ratchet thought real fast and turned his trip into a nice combat roll, popping up on the other side of the street and opening fire to cover the Wreckers as they raced away to have their go at Shockwave.  
"Nice save, klutz."  
"You're one to talk Optimus."  
"Touché Ratchet."

#~#+~+#~#

Racing for their tagged corner, Leadfoot misjudged the turn, tyres squealing as he tried to make up for the really wide turn. Tapping a large piece of debris on the ground, he swung back into line with a fishtail, reclaiming his spot and pushing on despite his miscalculation. Confidence bolstered by earlier, off screen events, Topspin lead the way into the attack, all guns blazing as they faced off against Shockwave.  
"Nice of you to join us Roadbuster."  
"Don't start Topspin, I'm here. Bad judgement on the corner, that's all."  
"You did make an impressive return. Nice fishtail."  
"Thanks Leadfoot, gotta make us memorable."  
"Then let's make this a show no one will ever forget."  
"We're right with you Topspin."  
"All the way to the end."

Watching over the fight from above, Perceptor and First Aid got their puppets moving again, their tiny forms assaulted by hot shell casings until they fell from Leadfoot and hit the ground. Landing quite a few good hits to Hot Spot's costume and the car he'd picked up for a shield, the trio retreated when Hot Spot raised his much larger cannon and returned fire. Retreating between his brothers, Topspin got back into place before they all peeled out together.

Left behind to fend for themselves, Wheelie and Brains were suddenly in a very bad situation, abandoned by their Autobot friends and facing Shockwave in all his glory.  
'Hey, hey, hey. Where you going?'  
'No, no, no!'  
'Where you going?'  
'Stop, stop, stop! Don't leave!'  
'You never leave a 'Bot behind! Aw, Shockwave's coming!'

#~#+~+#~#

Working to the chaos above, Hot Spot had a brief moment to be grateful the Autobots had used their saved earnings from the last two movies to build this incredible set. It was a nice replica of Chicago with a few other buildings from random cities thrown in and none of it was protected from destruction. Anything beyond their few blocks would be put in later with CGI. Clearing those thoughts with a sharp mental slap, he looked up at the glass tower way overhead and called for Driller to join the fun.

Tearing through the streets, Driller made his dramatic appearance, Skyfire and First Aid taking shelter behind another building and guiding their metal beast forward. Crunching through anything and everything in its path, Driller reared up beside Shockwave and received its orders before starting to tear into the building. All the stunt personnel and extras in the building were perfectly safe, four Aerialbots hanging around to whisk the people to safety once their few seconds in the spotlight had passed.

Climbing higher and higher, Driller made mince meat out of the glass, steel and concrete of the tower, really living up to his name as he tore yet another hole through the building and continued to climb. Working together to command the massive machine, First Aid and Skyfire had to use full body control suits to keep him spiralling up and on track to reach his target zone. He was a big responsibility to command, one false move and humans could be injured or killed.

Reaching the target floors, they started the wrap and crush, squeezing the building so it fell on target and provided an escape for the only humans left in the upper half. Crushing the building easily, Driller was a force to be reckoned with and his parts would be kept with pride for a long time to come. Once filming was over, what remained of Driller would be taken back to base and secured in the lower levels among the other big props from the movies. Squeezing tighter and tighter, Driller finally broke the building, sending the upper piece crashing onto the building next door to create a horizontal office space.

Job unfinished, Driller turned and entered the near horizontal section, still chasing the humans but also getting into place for Optimus to come soaring in to save the day. Racing into battle in all his flight tech glory, Optimus got right up close and personal with Driller, blasting away at the massive enemy and nearly swapping paint a few times. So graceful on his wings, he almost danced above Driller, he fired two rockets into the building and arched over backwards, diving through the gap he'd created. Letting out a battle roar, he emerged from the building again, blasting right through Driller's main appendage and killing the metal monster.  
"Alright Optimus! That's sticking it to the beast."  
"That was actually rather fun Skyfire. Thank you both for such a realistic monster to fight."  
"A nice warm up for what's coming."  
"Indeed, First Aid. But first, I have to spend some time just hanging around."

Soaring up to a nearby construction crane, Optimus put in a little extra spin and landed safely, one of his turbines giving a small backfire but it was nothing to worry about. Down on the ground, Hot Spot snarled and turned to Optimus, arming his big arm mount cannon. His shot was right on target, catching Optimus in another reinforced plate and putting him through the spin cycle.  
"I really hate this bit." Optimus groaned, crashing through the building site behind him and blasting out the other side to get tangled up in quite a collection of crane cables.  
"You okay Optimus?"  
"Now I know how a fly feels in a spider's web."  
"Hang tight, Wreckers inbound."  
"Very funny Hot Spot."

Tyres squealing, the Wreckers raced around another building to skid to a stop under their dangling leader. Well, two stopped but Roadbuster clipped something and went flying, tumbling through the air before the transformed and skidded to a stop not too far from his brothers.  
"Roadbuster?"  
"I'm good Optimus, there's a lot of debris down here."  
'Optimus!' Topspin called, staying with the script since Michael didn't call on the mistake.  
'Wreckers!'  
'We're coming!'  
"You're really coming along with your lines Topspin."  
"Thanks Optimus. Roadbuster and Leadfoot are really coaxing me to try as many as I feel comfortable with."

#~#+~+#~#

Refusing to face their executions quietly, even though they knew most of them were safe, Sideswipe, Mirage, Bumblebee, Wheeljack and Ratchet struggled with their captors. Well, Que wasn't struggling so much, he was accepting of the fact he was the new arrival that wouldn't be surviving the movie. The switch had already been made, the real Wheeljack was safe inside one of the false buildings, his death puppet taking his place outside.  
"I'm sorry it had to be you, old friend."  
"It's alright Ratchet. Better an old bot than a youngling."  
"It still sucks. If we ever do a fourth, I'll be the only old bot left."  
"And you'll face it with pride and dignity. No matter what happens. I just hope First Aid and Perceptor are on time."  
"They know what they're doing Jack, have a little faith."  
"I'm trying Ratchet but this is a challenge I never thought I'd face again."  
"I'm here for you Wheeljack, it's alright. Remember, it's Que out there, not Wheeljack." Ironhide offered, still right in the thick of battle but staying out of sight.  
"Thanks Ironhide."

Feeling sick to his tanks, Blaster knew he had to keep it together but it just felt so wrong, in so many ways, to shoot something that looked so much like Wheeljack. Pushing his concerns aside, he went through his lines with Patrick and advanced as Que gave his line to Bumblebee.  
'You, your time is up.' Blaster growled, grabbing the Que puppet and shoving him forward.  
'Wait, wait, wait! We surrendered! We're your prisoners.'  
'Move it!'  
'Can't we talk this out? We're all a bunch of good chaps! I mean you know…' no one could watch as the first shot tore into the puppet's chest, knocking it to its knees as parts went flying. 'why did you…' the second shot was even harder to hear, one last groan torn from Que's vocaliser before he crashed to the ground, head rolling clear of its shoulders.  
"Wheeljack?"  
"I got him Ratch, I'll take care of him." Ironhide replied, soothing his mate with a wave of support across their bond. Inside the building hiding their presence, the mighty black weapons specialist gently enfolded the trembling inventor in his arms, holding him tight as painful memories of the past assaulted his CPU. Vocaliser switched off so he didn't disturb the scene outside, Wheeljack sagged into the offered support and tried to be strong but scene like this always evoked strong memories of their past. Within seconds, he was keening silently into Ironhide's chest. Tightening his grip, Ironhide felt the vibrations within Wheeljack's frame and tried to offer comfort but Wheeljack was unreachable for the moment, needing a release from the pain. This was another role that everyone played for their friends, the solid rock when things got too much.

Pushing on despite the pain they knew Wheeljack was in, the rest of the cast still had work to do. Lowering his hands and hanging his head, Bumblebee said one last goodbye to Que before he was grabbed and dragged forward for execution. Resisting the bigger mech as much as he could, Bumblebee knew their timing had to be perfect or he could get badly hurt. He also had to make enough time for Shia and Rosie's scenes, the pair huddled in a wrecked car right near the remains of the Que puppet. Kicking the puppet, Bee felt sorry for Wheeljack, somewhere close watching all the goings on out here and he surged again, breaking away from Blaster in one last desperate act of defiance.

Absolutely disgusted with himself, Blaster smacked Bumblebee again, barking orders and raising his weapon to the scout's head as he knelt on the rubble strewn ground. Delivering his lines, Bumblebee could only hope that the timing was still on track, he was a sitting duck if the Aerialbots were late with their actions. He needn't have worried though. Right on cue, the Aerialbots started dropping the Decepticon fighters into the area, giving Bumblebee and the others their chance to strike back. Grabbing that chance, they struck back hard, tearing into their captors without revealing who was under the armour.  
'This one's for Que!' Ratchet hollered, managing to slip his line past Michael as they went on the offensive.

Switching in his own body double, Blaster was concerned for Eject, his brave son tucked up in a safety cage to control the puppet from the inside. Also aware of Eject's position, Bumblebee put the beat down on the costume, taking a beating but giving back ten-fold until he blew Soundwave's head off through his chest.  
"Eject?"  
"I'm alright dad, Bee shot out the other leg."  
"Alright, I'll be there to get you out soon."  
"Whenever you get there dad."

#~#+~+#~#

Coming in for his next dramatic entrance, Optimus kicked off the clock tower and rushed forward, swooping in towards the raging battle on the street below. Feeling less than his best, the great leader misjudged his sweep over the scene and landing. Trying to correct his path, he collected Ratchet and sent then both tumbling into another building.  
'Cut! Optimus, care to explain?'  
'Oww. Sorry Michael, I can offer no explanation.' Optimus replied, shaking the debris off his shoulders.  
'Optimus you fat bastard, get off!' Ratchet snarled, shoving at the great weight of their leader.  
'Oops, sorry Ratchet.' Optimus offered, rolling off the medic. 'Are you unharmed?'  
'Considering I just got taken out by your weight, I'm alright.' Ratchet replied, checking his frame for damage. 'Aid, get in here!'  
'Coming Boss.' First Aid replied, emerging from another shell building and heading for Ratchet. 'What's the situation?'  
'Get that debris outta my back, will you? I can't reach and it's pressing on sensitive equipment.'  
'Got it covered Boss.' First Aid nodded, kneeling behind Ratchet and getting to work on the stone debris caught between the green and white armour panels.

Making his way out of the building again, Optimus kicked off and headed skyward, getting in some extra practise while First Aid finished cleaning Ratchet up for a retake.  
"Hound are you free?"  
"What do you need Optimus? I'm just playing another protoform."  
"I just destroyed the front façade of one of the buildings in scene."  
"So I can see. Let me guess, you need a hologram to hide the damage temporarily."  
"That would be the easiest way to hide my mistake."  
"Alright, I can cover that one easily enough. I'll just wait for our medics to make their appearance before setting the hologram."  
"Thank you Hound."

Resetting the scene quickly, Hound proved all over again just how good he was with holograms, the building Optimus and Ratchet had hit looked as good as new. Blasting over the scene again, Optimus readjusted his track and shot over the battlefield, kicking up a shower of sparks as he landed and got right into the battle, tearing through drones, puppets and costumes alike. Shedding his flight capabilities to land in the debris around the battlefield, he pushed forward through the sequence, discarding one heavy weapon for his sword and continued his advance, dropping his other heavy weapon in readiness for the next battle.

Putting his sword away, he engaged Hot Spot with a roar, flipping over and coming up to drive one fist through the side of the costume, reinforced knuckle guards folding up to protect his hand. Bracing for the hit and glad for the added protection of his costume, Hot Spot took the hit easily and turned back to Optimus, taking a devastating blow to the helm before he was thrown onto his back. Leaning over the downed Decepticon, Optimus tore the vital lines out of his throat, pulling his optic with the lines then used Shockwave's mounted cannon to take down the cupola holding the control pillar.  
"How you holding up Hot Spot?"  
"I'm alright Optimus, a little dizzy but I'll be fine."  
"First Aid is on his way, you'll be out of that wreck soon."  
"It's alright. Go on, you've still got two major fights to get through."  
"Thanks for the reminder Hot Spot."

#~#+~+#~#

Moving up in support of the big duel between the Prime's, Leadfoot had a wrong place wrong time situation. In behind his brothers as they took the bridge, he stepped into the path of a fired rocket, one of the few that were actually real. Seeing the accident, both his brothers lunged to catch him without taking their fire off Sentinel but both missed. Bouncing one last time, he dropped off the bridge, heading for the chilly waters below.  
'Cut!' Roadbuster bellowed, racing to the edge of the bridge. 'Leadfoot! Come on Leadfoot, speak up!'  
'Down here!' Leadfoot replied, dangling from the bottom of the bridge by one hand.  
'Hang on Leadfoot, we've got you.' Topspin added, hitting the deck and reaching out to his brother.  
'I'm slipping!'  
'Tuhar!' Topspin directed, looking back at Roadbuster.  
'You're crazy Topspin, we've changed since Tuhar.'  
'Do it!' Topspin growled, flipping onto his back and inching over the edge.

Grabbing Topspin by the ankles, Roadbuster braced his feet and tipped his brother over the edge, lowering him down to where Leadfoot was hanging. Grabbing the nearest hand, Leadfoot released his grip on the bridge and swung into Topspin's strong grip, Roadbuster struggling to hold their combined weight. Shifting his grip and making sure they were set right, Topspin arched forward, swinging Leadfoot up and over before releasing him. Landing heavily, Leadfoot rolled back to his feet and hustled over to haul Topspin back onto the bridge.

Astounded by the teamwork displayed and the way they handed the situation so quickly, all those that had seen the action, applauded the display, leaving the Wreckers stunned.  
'Jeez, it wasn't anything special.' Topspin shrugged, shocked by the applause.  
'We've never been there to see the teamwork you three display in the heat of battle. You're always off on Wrecker missions, rarely seen in action but always bringing the results. It was a nice change to see you doing what you do best.' Optimus replied, so proud of the trio for what they could do.  
'Come on, we can discuss our talents later. Let's get this show back on the road.' Roadbuster called, heading back to his spot. 'This time don't go stepping in front of any rockets, Leadfoot.'  
'Blow it out your aft Roadbuster.' Leadfoot replied, their teasing a reminder that everything was alright.

#~#+~+#~#

Tackling Inferno against the side of another bridge, Optimus knew he was about to be in a world of pain at the hands of a friend but he trusted in his co-star to hit the right point and make it as quick and clean as he could. It was still going to hurt badly and leave Optimus in the repair bay for a while afterwards but he'd survive the wound and still claim the ultimate victory. Engaging in their deadly dance and keeping up his lines, Inferno didn't want to be the one to harm Optimus like this but he'd already been forgiven for any pain he had to cause.  
"Ready Optimus?"  
"Strike true Inferno. I trust you."

Driving his sword into Optimus' right shoulder linkage, Inferno twisted his blade sharply and tore through the joint, dropping Optimus' arm and sword to the reinforced steel deck. Instinctively protecting the wound, Optimus was wide open to the next step of the dance, a blow from Inferno's shield dropping him to the deck before that sharpened blade of his delved through his other shoulder. Withdrawing the blade just as quickly, Inferno followed Optimus as he tried to crawl away, the pair still batting their lines back and forth like in any other scene.  
"How you holding up Optimus?"  
"I can finish this Inferno."

Raising his sword for the killing blow, Inferno paused a second for Ultra Magnus to get into position. Joining the fight, Ultra Magnus aimed for the reinforced panels in Inferno's back, three shots ringing out before Inferno spun to face him. Crawling out of the way, Optimus watched his friends going at it hard, shedding parts and really turning feral.  
"Okay, I say Ultra Magnus never plays a bad guy again. He's getting far too good at being mean."  
"I'll second that. Being a Decepticon sucks." Hot Spot agreed, still feeling the pain of his brawl with Optimus.  
"Being an Autobot in these films is no picnic either." Mirage added, aching all over after several hard impacts.  
"Hey Topspin, you want the honour of tearing down this pillar?"  
"That's real nice of you to offer Bee but no, it's your moment of glory. You've always been there to back Shia up. Besides, we get the fun of trashing Trailbreaker's new costume."  
"It must be my lucky day, three rounds with the Wreckers." Trailbreaker sighed, safe from harm in his big costume.  
"You have nothing to complain about Trailbreaker. I just got my arm ripped off. Scripted or not, it fucking hurts."  
"Fuck, I'm going to be real busy once filming wraps." Ratchet groaned, planning to squeeze in a few quick repairs to his own frame before getting to work.

Fighting back the pain, Optimus eased to his feet as Ultra Magnus tossed Inferno to the bridge deck again, leaving the beaten red mech to crawl out of the way as Ultra Magnus delivered his lines and taunted Optimus into another fight. Snarling his response, Optimus advanced yet again, scooping up his axe and putting the hurt on Ultra Magnus again. The costume was strong enough to take the hit to the chest without harming the blue and white armour. Knowing what was coming first, Ultra Magnus transformed inside the costume, pulling his head safely inside his torso to protect it from what was coming. Kicking Ultra Magnus to the deck, Optimus swung hard, axe biting into the empty helm and ripping it off along with a lot of internals.  
"Ultra Magnus?"  
"Fuck it Optimus, another few inches and I'd really be dead!"  
"You worry too much old friend. Be still, we're almost done here."  
"Well, I doubt Michael will bring ol' Megatron back after that kill."  
"I certainly hope not."

Leaving his axe imbedded in the lifeless head, Optimus turned his attention back to Inferno and the final kill of the movie. Scooping up the dropped cannon, he approached Inferno as he rested on all fours on the deck, delivering his lines slowly. Correcting Inferno's last statement as he cocked the weapon, Optimus took careful aim on the reinforced areas and fired, knocking Inferno off his knees and onto his back, skidding him into the safety barrier. Firing again, the pyrotechnics took over, sounding the final bell on a traitor's life.  
"Inferno?"  
"I'm still alive. Dazzled and sore but I'm okay."  
"So long as you're still alive in there."  
"Between you and Ultra Magnus, I'm not sure who hits harder."  
"Optimus does, without doubt." Ultra Magnus chuckled, keeping his head tucked in so he wouldn't blow the secret.  
"Praise really must go to the pyrotechnical team, they do an amazing job with the explosions."  
"They sure do Optimus, it's really amazing what they can do."

#~#+~+#~#

Going way off script with the wedding insinuation, Bumblebee wasn't really concerned about how the humans reacted, he was looking for something more important than how Shia and Rosie reacted when he went improv. They managed to carry the theme but Bee wasn't listening to them, he was listening to the soft laughter from Optimus.  
'Cut! Bumblebee, that's not in the script.'  
'I know Michael. I wasn't trying for anything that would be kept in the movie, I wanted something special.'  
'Special? What's so special about a wedding joke?'  
'It's got nothing to do with the wedding insinuation, Michael. It's all about hearing that rumbling laugh.' Ratchet replied, pointing to Optimus. 'Even among our people, laughter is the best medicine.'  
'Thank you Bumblebee, you are always right there when I need a laugh.' Optimus nodded, easing down to one knee and offering out his hand.  
'That's what friends are for Optimus.' Bumblebee replied, stepping over the humans to enter the strong embrace of his leader. 'No matter what, I'll always be there to make you laugh when it's needed.'  
'And I will forever be grateful that you keep doing it, little Bee.'  
'Well, it is an amusing little joke Bee. I might just put it in the final edit, provided you can do it again and keep going with the scene.' Michael nodded, looking up at Optimus for an answer.  
'Certainly Michael. There have been many times when, for various reasons, I have had to ignore Bee's antics.' Optimus replied, releasing the bright scout and standing again.

Heading back to his spot and repeating the wedding gag, Bumblebee turned and headed back to stand beside Ratchet as Optimus turned and prepared to deliver his monologue, still fighting back the nausea associated with his severe shoulder wound.  
'In any war there are calms between storms. There will be days when we lose faith. Days when our allies turn against us. But the day will never come that we forsake this planet and its people.'  
'And that's a wrap people!'

Hanging his head and letting go of his tightly held control, Optimus vented a sigh and clutched his wounded shoulder, stepping back and swaying as he finally let his pain show.  
'Shit! Catch him! Don't let him in the water!' Ratchet snapped, hurdling the humans and hurrying to Optimus. Launching from their spots, Inferno and Ultra Magnus grabbed Optimus firmly, propping him up between them.  
'Easy Optimus, we've got you.' Ultra Magnus uttered, glad to have his head back out of his chest.  
'Lean on us, we'll hold you up.' Inferno added, taking his turn to play the rock for someone else.  
'Uh-oh! Someone grab a bucket! He's gonna…' Ultra Magnus started, noticing something in the way Optimus was standing but before he could finish, Optimus lost it. Curling up as much as he could while supported so firmly, the great leader purged his tanks, sending the humans scrambling from cover.  
'I got it covered!' Trailbreaker called, casting out a force field to protect the environment from the half processed energon.  
'Gently down Optimus, you're alright. We're here, you're safe.' Ultra Magnus soothed, guiding Optimus to his knees as Trailbreaker gathered the mess into a smaller bubble and floated it out of sight. Optimus just groaned and sagged against Ultra Magnus, too tired and sore to manage anything else.  
'This should make you feel a little better Optimus.' Ratchet added, accessing one of the lines in his neck and giving him another cocktail of meds. 'Skyfire's in the south parking lot waiting for us. He's already gathered up all the major stuff we're taking back with us. The others have already scattered to find the rest of the gear and Ironhide's gone to fetch the trailer.' he added, mainly looking at Ultra Magnus since Optimus clearly wasn't up to handling the cleanup.  
'Thanks Ratchet. Come on Optimus, up you get. Time to go home.' Ultra Magnus nodded, easing Optimus back to his feet and guiding him off the bridge. 'Inferno, I can manage Optimus. Would you mind helping Ratchet with the collection duties?'  
'Nah, I can handle that Ultra Magnus.' Inferno replied, starting to pick up the debris left over from the battle. 'I'm so glad that's over, Sentinel Prime is a real asshole.'  
'Look at it this way Inferno, you got a better death than the real Sentinel Prime. Optimus chose to let him suffer at the hands of the Wreckers and not just our three.'  
'Oh yeah, he set all the Wreckers onto Sentinel. Fifteen Autobots in total if I recall.'  
'Sixteen, everyone forgets that Kup was there as well. He was still their official leader then.'  
'So much has changed since those days, Ratchet.'  
'All of it for the better. Cybertron might be gone Inferno, but we're still here and thriving.'


End file.
